The Last Children of Chaos
by Snow Wolfe6631
Summary: After watching the world from the beginning of time, Chaos has become weak and is fading. To hold his legacy, thirteen new children are born of him and primordial goddesses. When Perseus and the other last children of Chaos offer their help to Olympus against all of the titans rising, will the Olympians accept? Or will it go down as the bloodiest war in history? Alternate Universe
1. The meeting

**Hey guys this is a rewrite of my old story, the last children of chaos. The majority of the story is the same with a few minor changes, so read carefully. I'll be putting a guide for the primordials at the bottom, in case you need a refresher.**

_**THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO I AM THAT WRITER! IT IS HER BIRTHDAY TODAY! READ HER STORIES OR PM HER TO CELEBRATE!**_

**Official Breakdown of the Story**

**Name: The Last Children of Chaos**

**Summary: After watching the world from the beginning of time, Chaos has become weak and is fading. To hold his legacy, thirteen new children are born of him and primordial goddesses. When Perseus and the other last children of Chaos offer their help to Olympus against all of the titans rising, will the Olympians accept? Or will it go down as the bloodiest war in history?**

**Rating: T, nothing higher, maybe lower. I don't write M stories. **

**Language: English, duh. Cursing wise though, I don't normally curse as a person and will only do so if it fits the character. Not an over dose of cursing though.**

**Pairing: I'm going to keep this a secret for now. It is not, however, Percabeth, Peranca, Perlia, Pertemis, or Percy and Last girl. **

**This takes place about 13 to 15 or so years before the last Olympian. They are currently in the void, Chaos's home.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Greek gods or later, Percy Jackson.**

A man sat in a chair at a brown oak table, looking out sadly through the window that showed space drifting by. The galaxies and cosmos shone so brightly, but your eyes were drawn to the man.

The man looked to be about thirty, with his pitch black hair showing no streaks of grey. But his black eyes with grey swirls were filled to the brim with sadness like a bucket full of water. The man had seen too much death and destruction, more than enough to fill an immortal lifetime. Though he seemed young, his body is slightly slumped and his aura was not as strong as it had once been. He was wearing a black suit with a dark grey shirt underneath. He tapped on a devices' screen in front of him and waited. In a few minutes, flashes of lights appeared in the room along with more chairs. The table itself elongated to hold the beings that had entered with their chairs.

He looked around at them. His oldest daughter, with her chocolate brown hair and green eyes, smiled at him. His youngest grandson, stood nervously beside his chair. He began roll call, something that he hated to do because it was so boring, but it was mandatory.

"Ouranos?"

"Here," The white haired man with blue eyes replied.

"Gaia?"

"Here," His oldest daughter responded.

"Erebus?"

"Present," A man with black hair and black eyes answered.

"Nyx?"

The attendance continued through Pontus, Thalassa, and Thesis.

"Eros?"

No one responded. "Eros?" The man called again before making a mark on his tablet.

He continued through the list. Thesis, Hemera, and Aether were all present. Tartarus, Hypnos, Thanatos, and Eros were not there.

"My children," The man said, finally speaking. "I have summoned you to a meeting of upmost importance. You may be seated," The beings in the room pulled their chairs to the table. They looked like regular humans but a certain powerful aura rolled of them. The power in the room was so immense, even a blind person could sense it. None of them looked the same, different hair, eye color, heights, but they all had the same face shape. The same face shape as the tired man at the table.

"Father, what is wrong?" His second oldest daughter asked. She was tall and had midnight black hair that fell just below her shoulders. Her midnight blue eyes were so dark that they were almost black.

"Many things, Nyx, many things. I am becoming weakened. I cannot watch over the world for much longer. I have some time left, but not much," The man said. Gasps and cries were heard throughout the room.

"How long?" A woman with black hair and eyes with every color in it.

"Maybe a hundred years maximum, Thesis," He replied

The browned haired woman with the green eyes began to cry. "It's my fault, isn't it?"

"No, Gaea, it is not your fault. Your sons, the gigantes had corrupted you in the 1940s and it was my duty as a father to bring you back home. You are a powerful child as my second eldest creation. Our battle was destined to happen. I cannot control what my granddaughters, the fates, make. This is not your fault," The man reassures her.

He shudders as he remembers that time so long ago.

_The man sat in the same spot as he had earlier today, but his black hair was shinier, his eyes were brighter, and he was less slumped. He seemed full of energy and a strong aura rolled of him in powerful waves. When he stood, he walked with a spring in his step._

_The door flies open and Ouranos runs in, his bright blue eyes wide with terror. His white hair was messy, like he had been running in the wind, which was odd for the man's normally neat son._

_"Father!" Ouranos says. "Gaia is rising! I couldn't stop her! She was about to rise to the surface in Al__aska!_

_The man's eyes widen. He followed Ouranos out of the room and the two sprinted away. They burst into a room where Gaia stands in the middle, her arms raised. A swirling green portal is opening above her. Slowly, she is rising towards it._

_"Gaia, no!" The man yells._

_She turns toward them while still moving upward. "You cannot stop me! I will rise once and for all!" Her eyes were no longer a grass green, but a dirty green. Something was wrong with her._

_If Gaia's arms hit the portal, she would be transported to the mortal world where destruction would reign. They had to do something. _

_The man ran at Gaia, tackling her. She fell off of the rising platform and unto the floor. But she was persistent. Kicking her father off, she climbed back onto the platform. Just as she was about to hit the portal, the man grabbed her, but there was not enoug__h time to pull her off the platform. They disappeared into the portal, but at the last second, the man changed the destination of the portal. They appeared in open space by planets and stars. __Gaia turned toward him and screamed, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"_

_"I couldn't let you go up there and completely destroy the mortal world! Come Gaia, be reasonable," He tries to reason with her._

_She growls at him and charges him, twirling her long staff. The man's shoulders sag as if he can't believe he must to this. Taking a deep breath, he summons his black sword, ready to face his daughter and bring her back home._

_Their battle rages for hours upon hours. Earthquakes, storms, and horrible natural disasters flood the world because of their powerful battle. _

_Gaia and the man stand about thirty feet, weapons raised above their head. Simultaneously, they fire blast of energy at each other, the man's black, Gaia's was a grassy green. The power bursts collided in mid air, but the explosion was enough to send both father and daughter flying backwards. A powerful explosion rocked the earth as the bursts collided._

_The man sat up slowly, dazed and exhausted. His black hair was matted with blood and his face covered in bruises. His bloodied hand gripped his sword tiredly. A trickle of blood ran from the edge of his mouth onto his torn and ripped black suit._

_Gaia did not look any better. For that matter, she looked worse. Her hair was a rat's nest, debris embedded in it along with blood. Her discolored with dirt and blood green dress, once elegant, could have been mistaken for beggar's clothing now. She was even more bloodied than her father. Still, she used her staff to stand up, pain evident in her eyes as her muscles ached._

_The man pushed himself to his knees, weak but determined. "Why are you doing this? This isn't you. You don't hate the mortal world. Why, my daughter, why?"_

_Her eyes flicker for a millisecond back to the regular grassy, happy green. As soon as it had come, her eyes were the muddy green. "You never cared for me!" She screamed, going slightly mad, charging her father._

_Gaia let out a blast of energy so powerful it could have destroyed the earth in a second had they been there. But the man looked at his daughter and released a black blast that covered his daughter's. He ran at her, arms open wide. She tried as hard as she could to kill him with her staff, but every hit the man took, he ran faster. Finally he had her locked in an embrace, caught tight in his arms. She screamed again, fighting and kicking him the whole time. But the man didn't let go._

_His energy burst covered them. Still, Gaia fought. He began to yell louder to mask her screams. "I love you. I love you, my daughter! I LOVE YOU GAIA!" _

_For a moment, you could feel the forces fighting together. But the man was stronger and loved his daughter. Everything went black for a second before the two fell through the roof off Gaia's room, landing on the floor._

_Ouranos looked at his wife carefully. But when he saw that her eyes were their normal color, he rushed forward to hug her. Gaia wept in his embrace. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," She cried._

_"Shhhh, it's okay," He soothed. "You're here now."_

_Gaia's eyes widened. "Father!"_

_Both turned to look at the heap of black fabric, unmoving, on the floor. They rushed to their father's side._

_"Father," Gaia cried as she leaned over him, her tears falling on him. "Please wake up. I love you."_

_Slowly the man's eyes opened. Overjoyed, his children hugged him tightly. He began to cough and they pulled back._

_"You're back," The man said, reaching out his hand to touch Gaia's cheek. "I knew you could do it."_

_Carefully, Ouranos and Gaia lifted the man up, since they knew he was in too much pain to walk. They carried him out of the room._

"Father?" His grand daughter, Thesis, with multicolored eyes asked. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," He couldn't meet Gaia's eyes. "Please continue.

The man next to Gaea takes her hand and squeezes it. "What are we to do? There needs to be someone to watch over the world," Ouranos says.

Gaea sighs. "It should not be one of us. We have learned from experiences with me that we can be corrupted."

"Yet if no one watches over the planet and my brother Order were to rise, the planet would be doomed," The man says.

"The Olympians are too petty and selfish to rule," A man with golden eyes said.

"I agree Chronos, but who else is to rule? Not the mortals or the heroes. Nor should other religion gods, like the Norse, Celtic, or Egyptian, rule," The man shakes his head.

"I have an idea," A woman with black hair and sea green eyes said. "What if our children were to rule?"

Everyone turned to the man's youngest grandson. The woman shook her head. "I mean new children. Ones who could unite under a father. Our previous children have had petty arguments that prevented them from uniting," She says looking at the man.

The man nods. "I am beginning to see. Thalassa, correct me if I am wrong. I am to have children with mortals?"

"No," The woman shakes her head firmly. "Though in the past great heroes came from mortals and gods, I sense that children with mortal parents would not be strong enough. I mean with primordial goddesses."

"More than one?" The man asked confused.

"Yes, they would be more powerful together if multiple powers were inter mixed. Twelve is a good number, four of each, two boys and two girls," Thalassa explains. "Also they should have a step parent that could be their second father along with you.

The man turns to his three oldest daughters. "Nyx, Ananke, and Gaea, since you both have your husbands, will you do this favor to me?" Nyx nods while Gaea looks at her husband and he nods.

"I will do so father," Gaea says.

A woman with black hair that lighten to brown at the tips and purple eyes with a few swirls of green nods. Ananke sits by her husband Chronos at the table.

"Then it is decided," The man made a few notes on his device.

"Wait," Chronos said. "There should be a leader so that the children do no quarrel."

Murmurings broke out. How could there be a leader when all the children are equal?

Nyx thought of the answer. "There should be a thirteenth child. There will be children of sky, darkness, and earth, but no sea. The thirteenth child should be a child of Thalassa. That child would unify them all."

All eyes turn towards Thalassa. She exchanges a glance with Pontus. "If that is the way, then I shall do it."

The man looks thoughtful. "Very well. This thirteenth child, they should be born in the middle so that everything is balanced. Ananke's first child will be born, then Nyx, Gaia, and so on," He said sadly turning towards his daughter.

"What is wrong?" She asks, concerned.

"I sense a dark path for one of your children."

Gaea looks alarmed. "Which one?"

"Not one yet to be born. No, an older child."

"A Cyclops? A hundred handed one? A titan? A giant? Which one?" Gaea sounded frantic and thoroughly distressed.

"Relax, my dear. A titan or several titans, I sense," He said.

Gaea's shoulders slumped. "Not again," She muttered.

"I know your fears of another attempt to corrupt you and awaking in the mortal world. Stay close to your new children and that may be prevented," The man finished.

She nods and relaxes.

"Any thing else to discuss?" The man asked. When no one answered, he continued. "Next time we meet as a council, you will meet the new managers and superpowers of the universe. Meeting dismissed."

The primordial gods began to leave in their signature colors. Blue, black, red, green, and many other colorful spurts of light filled the room. Once they had faded, the man got up and paced in front of the window. He stopped and turned to stare out into space.

"They will be called The Last Children of Chaos," The man mused to himself.

**I hoped you liked it. Please review and check out my other PJO story, Storm Rising.**

**I'm pretty sure most of you figured out who the man was. If not review and tell me your guesses. If you are confused about the primordial gods and their domains, Wikipedia has a great list on primordials.**

**Here is a list of primordial gods and goddesses so you guys don't get confused. This is not all of the primordials, only the ones that may be used in the story.**

**Aether- god of light, husband to Hemera, present at meeting. Blonde hair, blue eyes**

**Ananke- goddess of goddess of inevitability, compulsion, need, and upper air, wife to Chronos, present at the meeting. Black hair lightening to brown, purple eyes with green swirls.**

**Chronos- god of time, husband to Ananke, present at meeting. Black hair, gold eyes.**

**Erebus- god of darkness and shadow, husband to Nyx, present at meeting. Black shaggy hair, black eyes.**

**Eros- god of love and attraction, not present at meeting but has not faded yet. **

**Gaea- goddess of earth, wife to Ouranos, present at meeting. Brown hair, green eyes**

**Hemera- goddess of daylight, wife to Aether, present at meeting. Golden hair, blue eyes**

**Nyx- goddess of night, wife to Erebus, present at meeting. Black hair, dark blue eyes.**

**Ouranos- god of the heavens, husband to Gaea, present at meeting. Whitish hair, blue eyes.**

**Pontus- god of the sea, father of the fish and other sea creatures, husband to Thalassa, present at meeting. Black hair, green eyes.**

**Tartarus- god of the deepest, darkest part of the underworld, ex husband to Gaea, no one knows where he is, suspected he has faded**

**Thalassa- Spirit of the sea and consort of Pontos, wife to Pontus, present at meeting. Black hair, green eyes.**

**Thesis or Physis- goddess of procreation and nature. Black hair, multicolored eyes.**

**Remember to review! Thanks!**

**Happy Birthday to I am that writer!**

**~S****now Wolfe6631~**


	2. Born

**Wow, you guys gave me such a great response to chapter one! I had the first three and a half chapters written before publishing but I'm wowed away with all your reviews.**

**If you have read my other story, Storm Rising, you know that I respond to reviews.**

**Review Responses**

**sakurablossoms15- Thank you, a day is quickly enough.**

**percy zoe and artemis fan- I understand that you would like Percy and Silena, but I personally think that Silena should always be with Beckendorf only. Plus I already picked the pairing and I specifically said NOT to pm me or review with requests of the pairing.**

**Joseph- Yeah, Percy's a son of Thalassa.**

**XxBanewolvesliveagainxX- Thanks!**

**True Alpha 92- what do you mean by not reading it right away? I'm confused.**

**kcool456- Yes, I did start over. I needed a clean slate. All the last except for Percy are the same.**

**God of Ice- Here is an update.**

**Here is a list of primordial gods and goddesses so you guys don't get confused. This is not all of the primordials, only the ones that may be used in the story.**

**Aether- god of light, husband to Hemera, present at meeting. Blonde hair, blue eyes**

**Ananke- goddess of goddess of inevitability, compulsion, need, and upper air, wife to Chronos, present at the meeting. Black hair lightening to brown, purple eyes with green swirls.**

**Chronos- god of time, husband to Ananke, present at meeting. Black hair, gold eyes.**

**Erebus- god of darkness and shadow, husband to Nyx, present at meeting. Black shaggy hair, black eyes.**

**Eros- god of love and attraction, not present at meeting but has not faded yet. Black hair, any colored eyes**

**Gaea- goddess of earth, wife to Ouranos, present at meeting. Brown hair, green eyes**

**Hemera- goddess of daylight, wife to Aether, present at meeting. Golden hair, blue eyes**

**Nyx- goddess of night, wife to Erebus, present at meeting. Black hair, dark blue eyes.**

**Ouranos- god of the heavens, husband to Gaea, present at meeting. Whitish hair, blue eyes.**

**Ourea- primordial of the mountain. No spouse, dark brown hair, green eyes with streaks of white and black. Not present at meeting, but has not faded..**

**Pontus- god of the sea, father of the fish and other sea creatures, husband to Thalassa, present at meeting. Black hair, green eyes.**

**Tartarus- god of the deepest, darkest part of the underworld, ex husband to Gaea, no one knows where he is, suspected he has faded**

**Thalassa- Spirit of the sea and consort of Pontos, wife to Pontus, present at meeting. Black hair, green eyes.**

**Thesis or Physis- goddess of procreation and nature. Black hair, multicolored eyes.**

**Disclaimer- All rights to respective owners.**

Five months after the primordial council gathering, in the month the mortals called March, Chaos **(the man, if you didn't figure out) **was looking at the planet earth through a device on the table that earth would later call the iPad. Nyx liked to call it, the great destroyer of the world and mankind that would one day destroy all of mankind if Tartarus or Eros ever got a hold of it. It actually could do that with a few taps, but luckily, Chaos never wanted and never would use them.

He clicked on the state of Nevada, Las Vegas, United States of America. The Greek gods dwelled in America, the Empire State Building to be exact. Chaos sighed. Those Greek gods never were good at keeping at promises, especially the more powerful ones. The big three, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades had made a pact after Gaia's attempted rise to not have anymore children. Hades, the smartest of the brother of the bunch, had hid his current children away in the Lotus hotel and casino, a place where time stopped. Hades was actually a loving father who couldn't bear to kill his children, so he had hid them away. Bianca di Angelo, the older sister of the twins, could be the child of the prophecy, had there not been another big three child who could be older, depending on the time the children were removed from the hotel. Her twin brother, Nico, was there to support her or if needed be, be the one of the prophecy.

A picture that was taken last week comes up of the two twins standing by the skyline of Las Vegas on top of the hotel. Snow covers the ground around them and falls gently onto the hotel and them. Their arms are around each other, and they look excited to be together. A box of the clay pigeons sits between them, ready to be pitched off the building and shot.

Bianca is thirteen years old at the time. **(I'm messing with the ages a little, bear with me)** Her long black hair is back in a braid so she can freely shoot. A floppy green hat is settled on her head. She is wearing black jeans tucked into snow boots with a furry top and a large dark grey windbreaker. A gun rented from the Casino is slung over her shoulder.

Nico is the same age as his twin Bianca, thirteen, but several minutes younger. Still the two stand at roughly the same height. His messy black hair is wind swept and his mischievous eyes glint happily. He wears all black, but not in a completely goth way. He has his gun in his hands, ready to shoot.

Tapping a little farther west, Chaos clicked on Big Cloud, California, just outside of Hollywood. How ironic that Zeus, the Lord of the skies, had decided to fall in love with a famous actress who lived in Big Cloud. Just three months ago, Jasmine Grace had given birth to a little girl, Thalia. The girl had black hair and electric blue eyes like her father. For a while, Zeus had to leave his lover and young daughter, but he had returned in his Roman form, Jupiter. Chaos suspected that a child of Jupiter would be born in the next year or so.

Clicking on Seattle, Oregon, the image adjusted until Chaos was looking at a house in the suburbs of the city. Neptune had been regularly visiting this house. When Chaos investigated further, he found Melissa Cadrin, a young woman with brown hair and blue eyes. Currently, Melissa was about two months away from giving birth to Neptune's son.

Zooming out from California, Chaos tapped on the city of New York, focusing on a small apartment complex in the bustle of the city. A young woman with brown hair and kind brown eyes looked out the window while a man stood behind her, massaging her shoulders. Sally Donaldson had just found out she was pregnant. Poseidon visited her often, but the visits would end soon with the Ancient laws restricting him.

Relieved that none of the children were threats, Chaos had relaxed yet kept a close eye on the di Angelos and the Graces. Thalia's mother was a bit wild, but currently Zeus, or Jupiter, took good care of Thalia. Bianca and Nico were safe together in the Lotus, while their father often watched them in the shadows and had hellhounds patrolling the outside at night to keep them safe. Sally and Melissa were both kind women who would take good care of their children. Poseidon was the only one whose children had not been born yet. The prophecy about preserving or razing Olympus applied to both Greeks and Romans, the Romans just didn't know about it yet. All of the children should be on good terms with Olympus, so no interference was needed. If Kronos and his brethren were to rise as Chaos had foreseen, the children must be on good terms with Olympus. Especially Bianca, Nico, Thalia, or the unborn son of Neptune, who might be the children of the prophecy. If Olympus fell, Kronos would surely attempt to awaken Gaea on earth, ripping her from the void forever.

A knock rattled the door of the meeting room. "Come in," Chaos called. The door swung open and Aether rushed in, his blue eyes wide.

"Father, the children are being born," Aether babbled out. Chaos' eyes widened. Primordial births were weird at the least. The mother could have her baby at any time after four and a half months. They could also choose at what moment to have the child. Chaos had never had blood children before, just creations, so it was bound to be weird. Chaos ran out the door, Aether right behind him

It was nearing sunset; a good time for the children to be born. Nyx was growing in power as night began, and Gaea was stronger as the sun and the moon reached the ends of the earth. Ananke drew her strength from need, and the need for the sun to go down was great at this time. Thalassa was also stronger as both the sun and moon danced over the sea.

Chaos reached the hospital in the void very quickly. Inside, he found Ananke giving birth to the eldest of the last, Thesis helping her and Chronos holding her hand. A baby's cry pierced the evening and soon more followed. Soon, all thirteen children were born, placed in cribs after being checked for any diseases. They were in order from oldest to youngest, their hair matching black tufts. Soon, all the primordials gathered around the cribs. Ananke was tired from the long process but manage to stand with only a little help from her husband, Chronos. Nyx was doing better, only slightly being supported by Erebus. Gaea, well, after having the Cyclops, the hundred handed ones, the titans, and the giants, she was used to the pain. Thalassa had only had one child instead of four like the rest, so she was not overly tired.

Chaos picked up a boy with a little tuft of hair the of midnight black like his father's and cradled him in his arms.

"Fellow deities, may I present to you, Hayden, son of Ananke and Chaos, eldest of the last," Chaos announced. With this, baby Hayden opened his eyelids to reveal purple eyes like his mothers with a few silver swirls like his father's. Most mortal babies, did not immediately open their eyes. But immortals, especially children of the creator were special. Ananke reached out her hands for her child and Chaos handed it to her. Chaos continued.

"Ethan, son of Nyx," Nyx held her new son, brushing the shadow black hair out of the child in his arms' face. His eyes opened to reveal dark blue orbs with the same swirls of silver that Hayden had.

"Max, son of Gaea," Gaea looked down at her black haired baby boy with his handsome hazel eyes staring up at her in wonder in her arms.

"Alabaster, son of Ananke."

"Paul, son of Nyx."

"Oliver, son of Gaea."

"Perseus, son of Thalassa," Chaos handed the boy to his mother. Perseus opened his startling sea green eyes and looked at his mother. "Leader of the Last children," He added.

"Now to the daughters. Amy, daughter of Ananke."

The baby girls looked much like their older brothers except for the fact that they had slightly more feminine features. Their black hair was slightly silkier than their older brothers. Gaia's children had hazel green eyes, Nyx's had dark blue, and Ananke's had purple.

"Mia, daughter of Nyx."

"Imogene, daughter of Gaea."

"Holly, daughter of Ananke."

"Keira, daughter of Nyx."

Chaos approached the last crib, holding his second youngest daughter. By now everyone in the room was holding a baby even Chaos himself. The mothers were all holding their first born, Hayden, Ethan, and Max. The stepfather's were holding their first daughter, Amy, Mia, and Imogene. Thesis, Eros, Aether, Hemera, Pontus and Chaos had split the rest of the children between them. There was no one to hold the daughter of Gaea. Suddenly, the shadows deepened and the lights dimmed. The wind seemed to whip around in an eerily way. Someone screamed, but Chaos wasn't sure who in the mayhem. Babies cries echo around the room. Out of the deepening shadows stepped a man in dark clothes. The lights brightened again and the shadows return to normal. The cries ceased all together.

The man was the definition of dark with his black pants, black shirt, black cape, shaggy black hair, and pale skin. "Damn signature entrance. I use it once and the fates make it my normal way of entering," The man mutters. He looks up at them, giving them a view of his almost black eyes.

"Tartarus," Gaea calls to her brother. She steps forward to hug him, before remembering the baby, Max, in her arms.

"It's okay sis. We have to take care of the children first. Then you can give me a hug. If you can reach around your belly."

Gaea looked offended, before poking at her pregnant belly, minus the babies. "Fine."

"How did you know about the children?" Eros asked. "You weren't at the last meeting. We thought you had faded."

Tartarus rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had to take care of an attempt to dry up the rivers in Tartarus. After the meeting, Gaea and Ouranos being the sweet and kind siblings they are informed me of the plan. I came as soon I could. As for fading, I had to lie low. The Olympians or Hades anyways is getting suspicion of activity in my pit.

Chaos nods. He could keep tabs on most of his children, but Tartarus, being under the earth, was the exception. "Let's get back to the introducing."

"Right," Tartarus said, walking over to pick up his niece who's hazel green eyes were wide. He picked her up and held her comfortably in his arms. "Aren't you a cutie?" He cooed, tickling her toes that peeped out of the green blanket.

Chaos raised his eyebrows. This was a new side of the ruthless Tartarus they all knew and not really loved. "I present to you, the youngest of the last, Willow, daughter of Gaea."

"And my niece," Tartarus added.

"My stepdaughter," Ouranos added.

"My cousin," Hemera mentioned.

"My sister," Erebus said. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"What?!" Gaea asked.

"Well, I'm a son of Chaos and she's a daughter of Chaos, so we are siblings," He tried to reason, his face going a tomato red.

"So my niece is also my sister?" Tartarus asked.

"This just got weird," Gaea said. If she weren't holding Max, she would have face palmed.

"Anyways," Chaos said, clearing his throat. "I suggest we leave the children to rest and plan training for them in the meeting rooms."

The primordial gods nodded and put the babies back in their respective cribs. "Can we get food on the way? Keeping track of monsters makes me hungry. I like McDonald's frosties," Tartarus complained.

"You're a primordial god!" Thalassa whacked him on the head. "Summon your own!"

They continued down the hall, their bickering dying down.

Little did they know what their new born children were doing.

**So there are the last. What did you think? I know I changed Bianca's, Nico's, Thalia's, and Jason's ages, but please bear with me. There is a purpose.**

**I have already decided the pairing so don't send me reviews or pm your requests. And it will not be Peranca, Perlia, or Percy x Last girl. No Percabeth either. Just saying.**

**Remember to review!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	3. Years 1-3

**I'm super depressed. Here's why.**

**One of my dear friends and sister in everything but blood, Cel or TheGirlWhoCan'tLetGo, committed suicide last night or on the 3rd .**

** She was bashed so much by haters on fanfiction, told she should die by them.**

** She is dead now. I will miss you forever, my sister.**

** I invite you to join me in a time of silence, mourning Cel.**

**I can't write because I am so sad. I can't write when I'm depressed, so no more updates till I leave my depression for a while. This chapter is prewritten so I just posted it. Updates will be slower for a while.**

**Review Responses**

**Deoxys- Yes, Terra is in the chapter as a minor character. I'll hold you to your oath. You broke your oath!**

**God of Ice- All the last are good guys... for now. Just because someone's parent did something bad, don't judge them.**

**True Alpha 92- Are you referring to the original last children of Chaos?**

**AlexJacksonSonofPoseidon- I like it better than the old one too.**

**XxBanewolvesLiveAgainxX- Yeah, Tartarus is an oddball and a bit funny too.**

**Joseph- As of my author's note on Storm Rising, 3/23/14, Storm Rising is taking a nap. The last children are awake and I'm writing!**

**Kcool456- As I told Joseph above, Storm Rising is not being written. The words aren't coming so I'm writing a story where the words do come.**

**I am that writer- Well, it was your birthday and you have been so nice to me, reading my story that wasn't Percabeth even though you love Percabeth. It's the least I could do. I'm glad someone agrees with me about the swearing stuff.**

**Kilo1999- A last girl is a daughter of Chaos and the other primordial goddess. Their title as a whole is the Last children. The girls are the last girls. The idea is the same, but I'm practically rewriting it. Updates will not be faster. I will put up a guide for all of the children, but I won't explain who they are every chapter, so it would be in your best interest to remember them.**

**zeta03- Yep, I am still writing.**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners.**

When the footsteps of the primordials receded, for a moment nothing happened. Then Perseus sat up, pushing away his sea green blanket. He rolled silently out of his crib and landed gently on the floor. He tilted his head, motioning for the siblings to follow him. Willow sat up as soon as her brother hit the ground and climbed out of her crib. Soon the others were following suit in their silver diapers. With Perseus in the lead, they crawled to the door.

The door was shut, but not locked. Swiftly, the children made a little circle, locking eyes and seemingly forming a plan. The son of Thalassa nodded and his older brothers, Paul and Oliver, crawled over to a small wooden stool. One pushing, the other pulling, the stool was under the door knob. Mia, Alabaster, and Ethan lifted little Holly onto the stool. The purple eyed girl reached as high as she could, grasping the door knob with her little hands. She turned the knob, slightly shifting her weight so the knob turned.

All the others were ready to push the door open. At the signal from Holly, the twelve children on the ground worked together to push it open. They streamed through the door way. Holly dangled from the door knob before releasing her hands and falling. Perseus stayed back to catch his little sister. She gave him a baby smile and they continued after the others, crawling down the hallway.

**In the Meeting Room with the Primordials**

"How should we train them?" Aether asked, once they were all seated.

"All primordials should help train them," Chaos answered. "Eros, Tartarus-

"Chit- ching," Tartarus said, doing a money making motion.

"Thesis, Eros, Hemera, Aether, their mothers and step fathers, and Hypnos and Thanatos if they will," Chaos finished

"Thanatos and Hypnos like my nephews Thanatos and Hypnos?" Tartarus asked.

"Yes, you idiot. The two sons of mine that you trained in your fiery pit," Nyx scolded.

"Oh that Thanatos and Hypnos. They are cool," Tartarus said, slowly nodding his head. "Were they at the last meeting?"

"No, Zeus had some stupid godly census on Olympus that I also HAD TO attend. It was so dry. Zeus basically talked about how awesome he was-"

"He's not more awesome than me," Tartarus put in.

"And how much Olympus had prospered. We filled out forms and turned them in. It was so stupid," Eros finished.

"Ah, I see," Tartarus said. "Now back to my nieces and nephews. I'll teach them how to be totally awesome and badass.

"I'm afraid you would do the opposite," Nyx teased.

Tartarus looked offended and was about to say something when Chaos cut him off. "Tartarus, I was hoping you could teach them about monsters, titans, giants, or anything else in the pit. Maybe how to summon hell fire."

"Cool!" Tartarus said, giving a thumbs up. He lit himself on hell fire, a black fire straight from Tartarus, and leaned towards Gaia. "Want a hug sister?"

"No!" She summoned sand and threw it on him, putting out his fire.

"DAD!" Tartarus wailed. "She threw sand in my eyes!"

Chaos rolled his eyes. They would never grow up, especially Tartarus. "Eros, you could teach them how-"

"To get girls," Eros finished. "Sure."

"I was going to say how to shoot since you are skilled with the bow. Thesis, you could teach them about life or biology or something like that. Hemera and Aether, I haven't quite thought of that quite yet. Hypnos could teach them about the sleep spell and Thanatos about the underworld," Chaos turned to the eight parents. "Each of you should train your child in the powers you have given them."

Ouranos raised his hand like he was in class. "What should I teach them? Sky in not in the children's domain.

Chaos nods. "That brings me to my next point. Each of you fathers will be blessing the children so they are stronger. We will have that unofficially tomorrow morning. Also, Thalassa and Pontus."

The husband and wife looked up at their father. "Yes?"

"Even though you only have one child in the Last Children, I expect help from you to teach the children how to swim. They should all know the important skill," The couple nodded. "Their mothers will teach them in their domain and I will help them with their Chaos powers and learning how to supervise the world."

"Father, I have a suggestion," Thesis said.

"Yes my dear?"

"I suggest we don't make them primordial gods, just primordial children. That way they won't be bound by ancient laws and they could be a secret weapon."

"Interesting, They would be immortal, yet not have domains. I like it."

"Father, I don't mean to interrupt," Gaea said. "But I think the children are hungry and we should go feed them."

"Yes," Chaos flicked his hand. "Go on, we will meet up another time."

Chaos rests his head on his hand as the four new mothers walk down the hall towards the nursery. Eros and Tartarus are arguing about who's awesomer, but it's in a brotherly way. It sure has been a long day with the birth of his thirteem new children. Suddenly, screams break him from his thoughts. Ouranos, Chronos, Pontus, and Erebus are the first out of the door with Chaos close behind them. The other primordials follow them, racing down the corridor.

They reach the nursery to find the women hysterical and near tears. The cribs, every single one of them is empty.

"Who could have taken them?" Aether ponders.

Ouranos and Chronos look around carefully looking for the missing babies. Erebus is peering into shadows. Pontus comforts his wife, wrapping his arm around her. Chaos stares at the cribs intently. The blankets are to the side like someone rolled off of the crib. There are crawling marks from all the cribs to the door. The stool by the door only confirms his suspicion.

"Gaea, Nyx, Thalassa, Ananke, relax. The children are not stolen. They simply left the room. See the blankets to the side? The children rolled out of bed then crawled to the door. They dragged the stool over to the door. They must have gotten one on top of the stool then pushed against the door when the one of the stool turned the knob," Chaos explained.

"Where are they then?" Ananke asked.

"Follow the crawl lines on the carpet," Chaos instructed as he left the room to find his children.

The primordials leave the nursery, following the lines on the carpet. The lines are leading to the section of Chaos's mansion that he designed for the children. There were bedrooms and bathrooms for each, small kitchen, lounge area, training arena, track, meeting room, and lots more.

"The lines seem to be going towards the meeting room," Gaea said. Tartarus walked ahead of them and pushed open the door to the meeting room. He gasped.

"What is it?" Nyx asks. Tartarus was unable to respond. Chaos walked forward to look into the room himself.

What he saw left him speechless. All of the thirteen babies were sitting on their chairs Chaos had designed for them around a Rectangular table. Perseus sat at the head of the table. They were all sitting in the exact correct chair.

"How?" Ouranos asked from his place beside Chaos. The children were looking at a huge three D model of the earth. They had managed to get out of their cribs, open the doors, climb stairs, walk down hallways, open more doors, and climb into the chairs. They even managed to project a giant model of the earth from the controls in each chair's arms.

"How are my favorite nieces and nephews?" Tartarus said, putting his arm around Keira. She rolled her dark blue eyes at him and flicked him off her shoulder. The older primordials burst out laughing.

"Just like her mother," Chaos said, before becoming serious again at how these children could accomplish such a feat.

"I think I have an idea of why this happened," Thesis mentioned. "Besides from being very smart immortals, they also are aging very quickly. I suspect their baby years will go be twice or maybe three times as fast as mortal babies. When they reached the age of five, the growing will slow down. When they become eight, their growth rate will become like a normal mortal child's. When they hit sixteen, they will take on the true deity form that they will have forever."

"Probably works out just as well. The years when training can be more rigorous will go by slower," Eros said.

"Let's get you back to your cribs," Nyx said, scooping up her son Paul. The other primordials all picked up a baby and headed back to the nursery room, where this time, Chaos put a special lock on from the outside that would only open if told the right word.~

**~ When the Children are one year old (not one year after after) ~**

Chaos smiled as he peeped through the window that showed the children's nursery and connected playroom. His new favorite pass time was just standing there for hours and hours, watching them play and grow. They grew very quickly and their intellect was amazing for such young children. All of them could already talk and the first few were learning how to talk. He smiled as Paul and Oliver, or Ollie as they called him for short, played on the jungle gym and slide.

Slowly and gently, Chaos pushed the door open. Ananke and Thalassa looked up from their knitting to smile at him. When the children had been born, the babies spent the majority of their time splitting between the nursery where they slept and the playroom, where they had plenty of room for all thirteen children to develop. There was always a primordial or two in the room, but that wasn't a problem. So many of the primordials had fallen in love with the children that it was harder for them to leave. Chaos almost always had his iPad security system on the children's room because he loved to watch them.

Ananke, who had taught her daughters, the fates, to knit, was an expert in knitting. She had began to teach the other women and Tartarus, he was always the odd ball, how to knit. It was a useful thing to do while watching the children.

Thalassa wasn't as good at knitting as some of the others, but she was great at embroidery. Tartarus was a surprisingly good knitter, except he liked to knit baby hats of blood red and pitch black with pitch fork and fire designs, which Thesis deemed inappropriate for the children's age.

Chaos slid into a chair next to Ananke. "How have they been today?" He whispered.

"Little angels," Thalassa replied as she checked over her knitting. "No problems ever."

Keira got up and toddled over to Willow who was painting a picture on a mini easel. She tapped her shoulder and the girl's eyes locked, having a silent conversation. After a bit, Willow nodded and the two walked over to a bin of large foam blocks. Pulling off the lid, they begin dumping out the large, soft, blocks. Together, they dragged over an easel that had a white board underneath. Willow picked up a black marker and began drawing. Intrigued, Chaos summoned his ipad and began recording the process. When she stepped back, Chaos got a good look at the board. The daughter of Gaia had drawn an arch, one that they could build using the cube, rectangular prism, cylinder, and triangular prism blocks. The two sisters began to construct the base of the arch. They sorted the blocks into separate piles before began making two stable pillar bases.

As they were placing the second layer of blocks on, Holly came over, her purple eyes shining, to help. The three sisters placed another layer on. Paul nodded to Oliver and the two jumped off the jungle gym to come help. Amy, Imogene, and Mia all came over as the fourth layer was finished, Perseus, Max, and Alabaster close behind them. Hayden and Ethan got up from the game they were playing to boost Holly so she could put the triangle on the top. Then the children stood back, finished.

Chaos turned to look at Ananke and Thalassa, whose mouths were wide open in shock.

"They just constructed that in ten minutes?" Ananke was awestruck.

Perseus toddled over to them and put his little hands on Chaos' knees. "Da da, take pishure," He said.

Thalassa smiled at her son as he said one of his first complete sentences. Chaos obliged, lifting up the ipad to show he was going to take a picture. Perseus walked back to the group and they lined up in front of the arch. Hayden and Max hoisted Holly onto their shoulders while Keira and Willow hooked arms. Everyone put their arms around each other, with the exception of Holly, who was on shoulders. Chaos took several pictures. They would become one of his favorite pictures.

**~When the Children are two (not two years after though)~**

It was a beautiful day, sunny, mild temperatures, and big fluffy clouds, in the Void and Chaos, who was watching the children, took them outside. The castle/mansion where Chaos, the primordials, and the children lived was on the edge of the city of the Void. The mansion was surrounded by lush grasses on three sides, and extending further, a beautiful fountain and bridge plaza. On the fourth side, behind the castle, there was a small stretch of private fields before growing into a forest. The forest ran all the way to the Stormy mountain, where storms were always covering the peak, even on sunny days.

The father lead his children to a small park adjacent to side of the plaza and the lush grasses. A jungle gym and swings stood half way in the shade, half in the sunlight. A few massive oak and maple trees provide lush shade over the babbling creeks.

Chaos sat down on a bench nearby the playground as he watched his children play. He had noticed they all sort of found a best friend. Ollie and Paul were always together, running around and being active. Keira and Willow were his artistic and nature daughters. They loved to create stuff and be outside. Ethan and Hayden made another pair, while Max and Alabaster made a fourth. Imogene was closest with Holly, and Mia with Amy.

Perseus was the free roamer. He could fit in with any of these groups. Most people would find being a nomad friend made them the third wheel, but Perseus could jump in and play anywhere. Right now, he was playing in the shallows of the creek with Max and Alabaster.

The proud father turned to watch his sons, Ollie and Paul, on the jungle gym. They were always the aggressive and active ones. Chaos watched as the two ran up and down the slides playing a two person tag. Then Ollie got an idea. He ran over to Ethan and Hayden, tugging on their t shirts. He pointed to the slides and they understood what he was saying. All the children could talk, but Chaos suspected they were using their telepathic communication. Soon all four boys were playing tag together, laughing and occasionally a few yells.

Mia and Amy walked over to Perseus, Max, and Alabaster. Perseus smiled up at them, and the girls joined them in the water. He amused them all by making the fish swim around their legs. Squealing, they all laughed. Already so powerful, Chaos thought about young Perseus.

Willow, Keira, Holly, and Imogene were all on the swings, swooping high. A normal mortal parent would have been worried, but Chaos wasn't. The children were strong. The siblings were connected with a strong bond and took care of each other. Perseus, as the leader, was especially caring and had a knack for knowing when his siblings were in danger. Even though, he was destined to be the leader, he had this air around him that made you feel like he was the one to trust and he would stick with you to the bitter end.

Sure enough, a demonstration of this soon happened. Keira was swinging very high on the swings. On her way up, the chain caught slightly. The seat shook violently and Keira was thrown into the air, thirty feet. Chaos was about to leap to his feet and help, but a little voice in his head said, _Wait!_

Perseus whipped around as soon as his little sister had flown into the air. His sea green eyes widened.

In an instant, several things happened. The most obvious was that Keira stopped falling. She was suspended in mid air. Chaos reach out his powers to feel a strong blast of air keeping her up. The energy was coming from Holly, with her hands up.

The second was that a large shadow net was underneath Keira, but she hadn't made it. Paul stood, frozen, by the monkey bars, holding his hands in the air, keeping the shadow net up.

The third thing was the large water cushion that had risen from the creek. The blue cushion was below the net, to soften a fall. Perseus too had his hands raised to keep it in the air.

The final thing was that the ground below Keira had turned to a large, soft sand dune. The dune was tall enough than it would make the fall turn from a jolting landing to a soft pillow. Willow and Imogene together had created this.

Holly's face began to pale and she began to sweat as she struggled to keep Keira in the air. Hayden, who was nearby, walked over to his sister. Raising his hands, he took some of the burden of keeping Keira aloft.

Ethan too began to help Paul keep the net in the air, but Perseus needed no help in keeping the cushion in the air. Not that anyone besides Chaos could help with that anyways.

Gently, Hayden and Holly lowered Keira onto the shadow net. Ethan and Paul took over from there, lowering the net to the cushion where Percy joined them in lowering her down. Finally, the net landed on the soft dune. Mia walked over to give her little sister a hug and make sure she was all right. Max and Ollie waved their hands and the sand disappeared. Perseus lowered the water back into the creek, not spilling a drop. The children began playing again as if nothing had happened.

**When the Children are three (not three years after)~**

The children were split into two groups for training when they turned three, Chaos saw to that. If not separated, the children could beat of the teacher of their training easily if together. This was the best way to ensure that they were trained to use their own powers, yet work as a team. He planned to switch up the teams frequently.

To even up the teams, they needed another person. Tartarus had recently informed the council that he had a daughter who currently resided in Texas with her mother. When Tartarus went to check on her one day, he found her mother abusing her. He rescued his three year old daughter, whose name was Terra, and brought her to the Void. Chaos allowed her to stay in the mansion with her father.

When creating the teams, Chaos had found a problem. There were thirteen children and thirteen was not an easy to divide number. He invited Terra to train with his children. The little girl readily accepted.

Team Alpha consisted of the older children currently and Perseus. Hayden, Ethan, Max, Amy, Mia, Imogene, and Perseus were all in this group. Of the two genders and parents, these were older than the others. Team Omega had the younger ones- Alabaster, Paul, Oliver, Holly, Keira, Willow, and Terra. Chaos was very pleases of how well the training was going. The children were progressing rapidly, mostly equal with the toy swords. Ananke's children were skilled above the others with the toy boys they used. Nyx's children lacked the skill in archery, but excelled with spears. No one had quite yet found a talent for Gaia's children, but they were good with sticks whenever they fought with them. He suspected they would be good with staffs like their mother. Perseus was good at swordmanship like his siblings, but lacked archery. Chaos knew none of the weapons they had tried yet were right, so he would have to wait till Perseus was older.

Right now, Team Alpha was heading to archery with Eros. Of course, handling seven toddlers was hard, so Eros had a few people from the constellations helping. Ananke's children were doing great with their miniature bows. Gaea's and Nyx's children were slowly improving. He watched as Amy pulled back her bow and shot an arrow straight into the bull's eye of the target nearby. Chaos made a mental note to congratulate her later.

Team Omega was going swimming with Thalassa in the pool with a few dolphins. The dolphins were very friendly and taught the children good lessons on treating animals well and communicating with them. Thalassa was already in the pool when the children arrived. She smiled when she saw them. Ever since having her son, Perseus, his daughter smiled and laughed more. The children dropped their towels at the side of the pool. Oliver whooped and jumped in the pool on the side of the pool away from the dolphins. Willow happily ran into the water after her brother. She came up next to her favorite dolphin, Flippy. Willow began stroking the dolphin under her chin and Flippy nuzzled her. The other children got in the pool excitedly.

That night Chaos sat with the children around the dinner table in the main part of the mansion. He loved to spend time with the children and the others deserved time off. Even though the children were developed in height and weight to about the age of three, they were still a lot smarter than that and could feed themselves.

"What did you guys do today?" Chaos asked, as he stabbed his fork in the creamy macaroni and cheese.

All the children broke out talking. "One at a time," Chaos called out.

Amy, sitting to his left since it was her turn to sit next to him, spoke up first. "I shot an arrow in the bull's eye today."

"I know, I saw you. That's great!" He said. Amy received a few high fives. They went around the table, each child telling their father excitedly what they had done.

Terra sat at the table quietly, feeling a little out of place among the others. Her black hair hung damply on her back from swimming with the dolphins. Her reddish brown eyes watched everything carefully. She occasionally put in a few words, slowly trusting them.

He then reached Willow.

"What did you do today, Willow?" Chaos asked.

"Flippy let me ride him!" The little girl exclaimed.

"Really?" Ethan asked, next to her.

"Yeah!" She said happily.

"Wow, Willow you are doing great!" The little girl beamed. "What did you do today, Ethan?"

Ethan murmured something uncomprehend able.

"What's that?" Chaos asked.

"We shot Eros in the butt today," Perseus put in from his place beside Ethan, his face flushing. The whole table burst out laughing. Ethan and Perseus slowly joined into the laughter, their faces still a bit red.

"No wonder he was limping when he left the archery range," Chaos said. Ethan and Perseus were both struggling at archery, but excelled in both swordsmanship and spear fighting. They probably didn't mean to shoot Eros. After everyone had shared, Chaos took them upstairs to their beds and personally tucked each one in bed.

**Hope you liked the chapter. I will be jumping around to show you different shots of the life for the next few chapters. **

**Primordials again**

**Aether- god of light, husband to Hemera, present at meeting. Blonde hair, blue eyes**

**Ananke- goddess of goddess of inevitability, compulsion, need, and upper air, wife to Chronos, present at the meeting. Black hair lightening to brown, purple eyes with green swirls. Mother to Hayden, Alabaster, Amy, and Holly.**

**Chronos- god of time, husband to Ananke, present at meeting. Black hair, gold eyes. Stepdad ** to Hayden, Alabaster, Amy, and Holly.****

**Erebus- god of darkness and shadow, husband to Nyx, present at meeting. Black shaggy hair, black eyes. Stepfather **of Ethan, Paul, Mia, and Keira.****

**Eros- god of love and attraction, not present at meeting but has not faded yet. Black hair, any colored eyes**

**Gaea- goddess of earth, wife to Ouranos, present at meeting. Brown hair, green eyes. Mother of **Max, Oliver, Imogene, and Willow.****

**Hemera- goddess of daylight, wife to Aether, present at meeting. Golden hair, blue eyes**

**Nyx- goddess of night, wife to Erebus, present at meeting. Black hair, dark blue eyes. Mother of Ethan, Paul, Mia, and Keira.**

**Ouranos- god of the heavens, husband to Gaea, present at meeting. Whitish hair, blue eyes. Stepfather **of Max, Oliver, Imogene, and Willow.****

**Ourea- primordial of the mountain. No spouse, dark brown hair, green eyes with streaks of white and black. Not present at meeting, but has not faded..**

**Pontus- god of the sea, father of the fish and other sea creatures, husband to Thalassa, present at meeting. Black hair, green eyes. Stepfather of Percy.**

**Tartarus- god of the deepest, darkest part of the underworld, ex husband to Gaea, no one knows where he is, suspected he has faded**

**Thalassa- Spirit of the sea and consort of Pontos, wife to Pontus, present at meeting. Black hair, green eyes. Mother of Perseus.**

**Thesis or Physis- goddess of procreation and nature. Black hair, multicolored eyes.**

**Remember to review!**

**Also my updates will be slower because of Cel's death, read the top if you don't understand.**

**Thanks!**

**~ Snow Wolfe6631~**


	4. Years 4-7

**Thank you guys for the support and being understanding about Cel. A lot of copying and pasting in this chapter, not FanficManic's fault.**

**Review Responses**

**Javelinanddart- it's okay that you didn't know what to say. The mother of Terra was interesting, she beat her child until Taratarus rescued her.**

**IWANTCOLOREDRAIN- Thank you for understanding about Cel. I've gotten over it enough now to write, not to talk about it though.**

**Deoxys- Yes, thank the gods we are mortals. You would be burning in the river Styx right now if not. I'm so happy you're have way through loyalties!**

**Kcool456- yes, words do hurt a lot.**

**HammerSlammer21- thank you for your condolences.**

**XxBanewolvesLiveAgainxX- Thanks.**

**Dezil- next chapter.**

**CowgurlStrong- Terra was actually a character that my dear friend Deoxys kept bugging me to put in any of my stories. So I was like, what the heck, she can hang out with the last children.**

**Ancientrip-...**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners.**

**I will be writing a one shot for each year of their lives. One or maybe two chapters from now, we will start getting into the actual plot**.

BIG THANKS TO FANFICMANIC FOR BETAING THIS CHAPTER!

**~When the children are four~**

"Amy! Max! Kiera! Ollie! Paul!" Percy called to his siblings as he slid in his socks down the corridor. "Wake up guys! Alabaster! Holly! Imogene!"

The said girl poked her head out of her bedroom door. "What's going on Percy?" Imogene asked. She had just gotten up and put on her clothes, a t-shirt and shorts, for the day before Percy had ran by, calling them.

"Dad said we need to come to the arena as soon as possible. We get to try out weapons today!"

Imogene's eyes widened happily. "Really?"

"Yes!" The green eyed boy smiles happily at his sister. "Uncle Thanatos and Uncle Hypnos are there too!"

"I'll go tell the others too!" The two raced off down the hallway, sliding and calling their siblings names as they ran. Soon all the children were congregated at the end of the hall, by their miniature kitchen. A container of healthy multi grain muffins with fruit sat on the counter, courtesy of the ever healthy Thesis.

Reluctantly, the siblings were about to grab muffins. They all loved Auntie Thesis but her obsession with healthy foods was sometimes over the top. Why couldn't they ever have cupcakes or candy?

"Ah ha!" Mia says, spotting a black container with a red lid. "Uncle Tartarus strikes again!" She pulled the lid off to reveal chocolate donuts with red icing and black sprinkles. Their eyes widen to the size of saucers plates.

"SUGAR!" Hayden says excitedly, as thirteen pairs of hands grabbed for the yummy treats. Within minutes, the baker's dozen of doughnuts was in the children's stomachs. Ethan grabbed several small cartons of milk and tossed them around. Wiping their milk mustaches away, they sprinted towards the arena.

As they fling open the doors to the arena and run in, afraid of being late, Percy and Ollie, who were at the front of the group, slam into something half hard half soft as they were looking over their shoulders as they ran.

Fortunately, the other last managed to stop before having the same fate as their brothers.

"Watch where you are going, little one," A deep voice says from high above them.

Percy's head snapped up to look at the speaker. "Uncle Thanatos!" He cried with pure joy.

Thanatos laughed as he picked up the little boy and spun him around in the air. The other children happily converged on the twin sons of Nyx and Erebus.

Thanatos was forced to put Percy down as some of the children tackled him to the ground and begin their favorite game, wrestling. After they had heard that he had wrestled with Heracles, they wrestled every time they were together.

Hypnos, a normally sleepy god, was wide awake and laughing as he played with his nieces and nephews. They weren't really his nieces and nephews, but it felt like it. If you got technical, they were his aunts through their relation to Chaos and his cousins through their moms. It got confusing.

Chaos smiled as he watched his grandchildren and children in the shadows. The kids really brought out the best side in the twins. Thanatos was normally a cruel, hard man with a sarcastic and sick humor. Around the children, he was a kind and caring almost childlike person. Thanatos was not the only one had changed. Hypnos was irresponsible, immature, lazy, and cowardly at most times. Ever since his older twin brother had dragged him to see the children, he was that irresponsible, he had actually kept track of the things he needed to do and regularly came to see the children.

What the brothers' wear also changed drastically from three years ago. Thanatos stopped wearing his black and tan robes with his stygian iron scythe on his back when he wasn't at work. Instead, he wore a tan t-shirt and black jeans. Hypnos stopped wearing his pajamas everywhere and actually started getting dressed in the mornings on the days when they were going to see the children. Maybe they would even get him to make his bed next.

After a few minutes of watching them wrestle, Chaos stepped into the light. When Thanatos, Hypnos, and the last children saw him, they sheepishly got up from their wrestling matches. Chaos pretended to look stern, messing with them.

"Sorry, Gramps," Hypnos says.

"Yeah, we're sorry, gwamps," The other children echoes at cracked a smile. The power of echoing.

"Relax, it's good to have fun at times."

Thanatos' gold eyes widened. "No, gramps, it's never good to have fun."

The other children shook their heads vigorously. Chaos had to keep in his laughter. "All right, fine. No fun. The others are waiting in the arena when you are ready to come in."

Walking away, Chaos turned around at just the right time to see Thanatos and Hypnos high five the kids. Scooping up two of their nieces each, the twins put a girl on each of their shoulders. Leveling out their wings, another two kids fit in each. Paul and Ollie, Max and Alabaster each wrapped their arms around the gods' legs. Percy grabbed their hands. The two struggled to walk without tripping.

-ONE HOUR LATER-

As a way to find which weapons best suited the children, Chaos had planned a day for when they had turned four to try out weapons. He had gathered a list of weapons from their power and who could teach them. After today, he would begin analyzing the data and designing personalized weapons for them. When they turned five, they would start training with them.

Currently, the children were broken into groups of one to three, rotating around to the different stations. Another plus of this testing was their experiment with the metals. As children of Chaos, they could easily use Chaotic Steele, a black metal with silver swirls, but there may be a better metal for them to use.

At a station with Ourea, primordial of the mountains, Percy was alone at the station. Ourea was an expert with axes, especially mountain silver axes. Percy hefted a heavy axe made of stygian iron.

"Whoa, little buddy, why don't you try this one?" Ourea suggested, handing him an Oceanic Steele axe that was just his size. The axe had an Oceanic Steele double edged blade and a long black handle with a smooth grip.

The son of Thalassa swung a few times with the axe before grinning widely. "It works!"

Chaos made a note on his iPad. Out of all the metals, stygian iron, stygian ice, celestial bronze, imperial gold(Chaos was Chaos in both Greek and roman), Mortal Steele, mountain silver, wind silver, mountain steel, sand bronze, hell firesh (hell fire solidified), and Oceanic Steele, Percy was best with Oceanic Steele.

At another station, Hemera, goddess of daylight, was showing Alabaster and Max how to use knives. In general, all of the children were doing marginal with this skill along will swords.

Hypnos was teaching his cousins, Holly and Imogene how to use chains in combat. Imogene was struggling with her mountain steel chains, while Holly was excelling with her compulsion steel chains. Chains were good close range weapons as they usually had a longer reach than your opponent's weapon.

Willow, nearby at Thanatos' station, was faring well with the scythe, her best weapon so far. She was good with Mountain Steele and proficient with wind silver and hell firesh. Chaos suspected she would also be advanced with a staff like her siblings were. Willow's knee brace clicked softly as she tried out the weapon. When Willow was three, they had discovered a curse disease in her leg. Chaos wasn't quite sure who had laid the curse, but the disease hurt the little girl's knee a lot. Some of the best doctors looked at the knee, the only that they could do was put a knee brace. This allowed her to be able to do everything else with her siblings.

Keira was doing all right with the scythe, but it wasn't as good as a spear for her. The stygian metals, stygian ice and stygian iron worked well for her.

At the whips station with Tartarus, Amy and Mia whirled the leather and steel whip combinations around them. Amy had swiftly gotten the hang of it but Mia was still struggling.

At Erebus' station, Ethan and Hayden sparred with spears. Ethan seemed to do best with the stygian metals, stygian iron and stygian ice. He had performed excellently with spears. Hayden had always been good with bow and arrows than spears, but using wind silver and compulsion steel made it easier.

Paul and Ollie dueled with long staffs at Gaia's station. Ollie's brown with a green twist at the top, Paul's dark blue with a black twist at the top. Both boys were doing well, though Ollie was doing better.

Terra, who was training with the last children, had already received her weapons from her father, two curved swords called. Because she was young and not very skilled yet, she only used one sword for the time being. Though Terra was the daughter of a powerful primordial, she was nowhere near the last children.

Eros was relaxing as no one was currently at his archery station.

As they continued the weapon testing, Chaos made a chart on each of his children.

Hayden:

Preferred metals- Compulsion Steele, wind silver

Preferred weapons- bow and arrows, whip

His siblings, the other children of Ananke shared the same taste of weapons.

Ethan:

Preferred metals- stygian ice, stygian iron

Preferred weapons- spear, chains

Max:

Preferred metals- Mountain Steele, wind silver, hell firesh

Preferred weapons- staff, scythe

Chaos considered the day a success.

**-When the children are five-**

After careful planning, Chaos had spent almost a whole year (the children's aging had slowed down to almost normal) making their weapons. He carefully evaluated their height, stance, and hand grip to design their weapons. After finding the best forgers in the galaxy to make the weapons, Chaos enchanted the weapons so that they would always be the perfect size for them. The makers and he all wore gloves when handling the weapons so that the children could activate the first touch bound, where the blade connects with the first person to touch it.

Anyways it was the day for the children to be given their weapons. Chaos had decided to give them their swords and knives first. Once they had mastered that, he would present their unique weapons to the children to the arena armory, there they would have room to test their weapons. He summoned the different colored padded bundles with their names on them. Soon the children rushed in.

"What did you need Father?" Holly asked.

"Today, you will be receiving your weapons," Chaos paused to begin passing out the packages. "Hayden, Alabaster, Amy, Holly," The four siblings stepped forward to grab their two purple attached packages. "Ethan, Paul, Mia, Keira," They stepped forward to grab their respective dark blue packages. "Max, Ollie, Imogene, Willow," Grabbing their hazel packages, they waited excitedly to open them. "And Percy." The green eyed boy snatched his matching green packages. "You may open them."

With that, the air was filled with the sound of ripping cloth and gasped in awe as they pulled the cloth away from the padding and pulled the weapons out.

Each one of them had a normal length sword for their age. The hilt was a soft black leather grip that was modeled exactly to each of their hands. The majority of the blade's metal was made from chaotic steel, giving the blade a black/dark grey look.

But each children with different parents had a different metal swirled in. Ananke's children had compulsion steel mixed in, giving it a purplish tint. Ethan, Paul, Mia, and Keira had stygian iron in theirs that gave off a dark blue light. Mountain Steele was mixed into Gaia's children's blades, giving it a green/hazel mixture along with the black. Percy's blade was black and silver like his siblings but he had blue and green swirls throughout.

Alabaster, who had been the first to finish gawking at the sword, opened the second package. Pulling away the purple cloth, he slid two long daggers, slightly longer than their forearm, out of the packaging.

The daggers were made of the same material as the swords, slightly altered for better use but made with the same metals.

As each child picked up their weapons by the hilt, they felt a tingle go up their spine the minute their fingertips touched the grip. The tingling was warm, like meeting a person you know with be your very best friend. They felt the weapon's power that they could unleash.

Chaos walked around, handing out the specially tailored sheathes, as the children examined their newest possessions with amazement.

There were different types of sheathes. One, used by sliding your sword through the sheath on your back, was good for putting your sword somewhere accessible when you would be walking great distances or needed no hindrance in your activity. The second was a sword sheath at your side, if you ever needed to quickly draw your weapon but didn't want to carry it.

For the knives, there were two sheathes also. One had two sheathes on a belt that could be removed to put on the same belt as sword sheath. The other was used for strapping knives to your legs. All the belts were made of black leather with silver buckles.

**~When the children were six~**

A little less than a year of hard training later, Chaos decided it was time for his children to receive their unique weapons. They had pretty much mastered fighting with their swords and knives, so he knew they were ready.

Right now, Chaos was sitting in the observation area above their sword fighting arena. They were all dueling their best friend so to speak, and Percy fought Terra.

The proud father had been watching for the last fifteen minutes and in that time, nobody, except for Percy, had broken the stalemate they were locked. Given he did have the easiest opponent, but that meant all the rest were very well matched.

Finally, after watching for another five or so minutes, Chaos had to interrupt. He teleported down to the arena.

The children all looked up and sheathed their swords when they felt his presence enter. A chorus of "hey dad", "what's up pops", "hi", and "good morning's" echoed around. Terra walked off into the shadows as when Chaos usually appeared, she was not needed.

Chaos mocked glared at Percy who had said what's up pops. "Good morning to you all. I need you to come with me. It's very important."

Confused, they followed their father through the maze of corridors they called home. He led them through doorways, up long staircases, and down long passageways. Finally, they reached a door that was completely black. Chaos placed his hand on it and muttered a few ancient words. The door swung open to reveal a room that the children thought they had never been in before.

The room was large with four white hospital beds lined up along one wall. The sheets were made and they could tell no one had used this place in a very long time.

On the other side of the room, there were thirteen dark brown wood cribs, a different color blanket on some. Four had midnight blue, another had purple, and hazel green was the color of the next four. Directly in the middle, there was a single crib with a sea green blanket on it.

"What is this place?" Percy asked, running his hand over one dusty crib frame.

"This is the place where your mothers gave birth to you. This is where, after we had left the room, you all managed to open the door and crawled to your meeting room," Chaos explained.

"Why are we here?" Mia asked.

"To receive your weapons," their father replied simply.

Paul looked around confused. "This is our childhood room. Where would you get the weapons?"

"Each of you have your name carved on the foot of your old bed," Chaos instructed. "Touch the wood and watch."

Hesitantly, they step forward in perfect synch and place their hands on their respective bed frames. Instantly a deep rumbling emits from deep in the crib and up their arms. The rumbling grew to a normal talking level sound. Slowly, thirteen glass cases came up from the walls, their weapons visible inside. Chaos looked at his children and sees their eyes open wide.

"Go ahead. Open them up," Chaos urges.

Almost as if in a trance, the children all step to the left of the cribs. Swinging open the glass cases, they draw their weapons out. Ananke's children received black bows made of springy strong wood with silver streaks wrapping delicately around the wood. A quiver of purple arrows that can explode, shoot out ropes, blare music, be used as fart arrows, trip wires, and so much more. The arrow points are made of a mixture of Chaotic Steele and Compulsion Steele. A long black leather whip mixed with the same mixture is curled. The grip is made of black leather and has a strong handle.

Nyx's children received black spears. The long black wood with the silver streaks is the same as the wood for the bows, Chaos Poplar, but only a little bit stronger for better use. The point of the spear is Chaotic Steele, stygian ice, and stygian iron. Also in the case is a small metal black box. Ethan opens the latch with a snap. Inside were several miniature black, blue, and silver chains. As Ethan lifts one from the box, it expands it a medium sized chains. In all, there are six medium chains, eight short chains, and four long chains, all shrunken in the little box.

Max, Ollie, Imogene, and Willow, Gaia's children, received a black staff made of an even stronger version of the same wood. To strengthen the Chaos Poplar, Chaotic Steele, Mountain Steele, and wind silver threaded around the strands of wood. The staff twisted off at the top. Also in their cases was a long scythe made of the same metal combination used to strengthen their staffs. The scythes were black like the rest of the equipment and the handle was wrapped with a black leather like the others.

Percy's box only had one weapon. The wood of the handle was made of the strongest Chaos Poplar, reinforced with Oceanic Steele and of course Chaotic Steele. The axe was twin bladed and double edge made from the strong mixture also used to reinforce the handle. The bottom or butt of the handle was wrapped in black leather grip so that Percy's hands wouldn't blister when he was whirling the axe above his head. A black strap was also connected to the grip.

As the children grabbed their weapons for the first time, they felt the same humming power that they had felt when they touched their swords for the first time, only stronger. The weapons felt perfect in their hands and they were itching to try them out.

"This is so cool! Can we go try them out?" Keira asked, very excited.

"Of course you may. Have fun!" Chaos added.

The children all left the room in different ways. Nyx's children dove into the shadows. Gaia's children opened up holes in the ground and fell through to their destination. Percy disappeared in a sea breeze while his purple eyed cousins faded out.

Chaos smiled to himself as he locked up the room. They would be strong enough for their task ahead...

He hoped.

**~When the children were seven~**

"Guess what?" Willow ran in excitedly and began jumping up and down on her brother, Ollie's, bed.

"What Little Tree?" Ollie asked as he looked up from his game of Egyptian rat trap with Paul, Ethan, Hayden, and Percy.

"Auntie Thesis and Uncle Ourea are taking us on a hike up Cloudy Mountain today! I just heard mom and dad talking about it!" The little girl exclaimed as she jumped up and down happily. They called all of the primordial Auntie and Uncle, regardless if they were actually that relation.

"Are you sure?" Hayden leapt to his feet.

"Yes!" Willow bolted out of the room. The boys raced after her.

They caught up to Willow, their sisters, and other brothers when the others waited anxiously outside their parents meeting room. The status said IN SESSION. Max paced impatiently in front of the door before hitting the pager button.

"We heard about the hike. Can we PLEASE come in?" He asked.

They heard their dad sigh loudly at the other end of the pager. "Fine."

The children screamed excitedly as Max forgot he was holding the pager button still that magnified their voices by a tenfold. All the primordial's covered their ears as the children came running in. They took their smaller respective seats at the large table, looking impatiently at their father, Chaos.

"All right, who let the cat out of the bag?" Chaos asked, pretending to be stern.

All of the last children's eyes turned accusingly to Willow. Little Tree slumped in her seat, desperately trying to disappear.

"It's okay, Little Tree, I was just kidding," Chaos reassured her by using her nickname. The girl nodded and smiled.

"Yes, you are going on a hike up Cloudy Mountain," The children looked at each other excitedly. In their land studies with Thesis, they had learned the geography of the Void. Cloudy Mountain was a much smaller mountain near the base of the Stormy Mountain. "We decided as a council that it would be a good application of your land studies with Thesis, your weather studies with Pontus, your sky studies with Ouranos, and many good survival skills. It's not a super long hike, six or so miles up and down the peak."

They nodded excitedly. "What do we need to bring?" Mia asks.

"I'm getting to that. Thesis and Ourea will be taking you on the hike. You will need to wear comfortable hiking clothes like shorts, T-shirts, hiking sneakers, etc. We will provide you with a small pack containing food and water, but you need to bring your knives in leg sheathes. That's all. You may leave to get packed," Chaos concludes.

The last children race out of the room. They hurriedly put on proper hiking clothes and ran to Auntie Thesis' room, where they had been told to go after being ready.

Terra was already sitting outside the room one of the brown wooden benches, eating some dark chocolate. She loved chocolate in general and combined with her dark personality and her love for chocolate, dark chocolate had become her favorite food. A few weeks ago, her father Tartarus had taken her to Hershey's chocolate world, famous for its yummy candy, for her seventh birthday.

Still munching on her chocolate, Terra handed them the bags Thesis had left with her. The bags were small black drawstring bag that were incredibly light.

Even though they could use their unique weapons very well, the knives were the best thing to bring. Terra had strapped one of her swords to her back already.

"Yeah, come on kids, we're taking the van," Ourea jangled the keys, his green eyes with black, white, and brown streaked gleamed mischievously.

A few minutes later, all sixteen of them were piled into the large van. Thesis and Ourea sat in the front, Amy, Mia, Terra, Max, and Alabaster were all squished in the seat behind them. To the back of them, Percy, Willow, Keira, Paul, and Ollie laughed and joke. In the way back, Imogene, Holly, Hayden, and Ethan sat with their bags at their feet.

"Hold on kids!" Ourea exclaimed.

"Ourea," Thesis warned. "There aren't en-"

The primordial of the mountains slams his foot down on the gas pedal. The car rockets forward.

Thesis grips her seat tightly. "Ourea," She tries to scold, but she ends up laughing along with the children.

The van disappears from the road near the castle and reappears in the Cloudy Mountain parking lot. They pile out of the car and Ourea locks it.

"Remind me again," Thesis rolls her multicolored eyes. "Why did we take the van?"

"Come on, Sis. The kids want to get hiking," Ourea takes Terra and Holly's hands.

Willow and Keira run over to Thesis and pull her along with them to the start of the path.

The goddess of creation can't help but laugh. The two girls release her hands and run after their older brothers.

They leapt over streams, jumped from rock to rock, and generally had a great time.

"Let's sing!" Holly suggested.

"What song?" Ethan asked as he scrambled up a large rock.

"How about time ago?" Willow suggests.

"Perfect!" Percy claps his hands and starts singing.

"100000000 eons ago,

The galaxy was nothing.

Then some changes for go

And it turned into something," Percy paused and Mia jumped in.

"A golden light filled the air

And helix did appear.

The first being to be there

Oh yes, my little dear."

As Mia finished her verse, Imogene and Holly sang together.

"Next three beings were born

Order, Chaos, and Void

They lived with their father and did learn

One girl and two boys."

"Oh, time again

Time ago

Walking through history train

Time ago," Everyone, even Thesis and Ourea, sang.

"Chaos creates Gaia, Ouranos, Tartarus, Nyx, and Erebus

Earth, sky, fiery pit, night, and shadows

Ananke, Chronos, Thalassa, Pontus,

Compulsion, time, sea, water," Terra sang.

"Gaia and Ouranos made some rhyme

Lots and lots of titans

Nyx and Erebus took their time

Thanatos, Hypnos, Aether, and Hemera," Ethan and Willow harmonized.

"Oh, time again

Time ago

Walking through history train

Time ago," Once again, everyone sang the chorus.

"Titan kings name was Kronos

He took Rhea as his queen

Cut up his father Ouranos

Ruled the whole world very mean," Hayden and Alabaster took up the tune.

"Rhea had her some children too

Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera, and Zeus

Kronos ate them up with a snap

But Rhea hid baby Zeus," Max, Ollie, and Paul made a trio.

"Zeus became strong he did

His mother and he created a plan

They tricked Kronos into barfing up his kids

A battle was fought, hand to hand," Keira and Amy sang.

"Oh, time again

Time ago

Walking through history train

Time ago!"

"The gods of Olympus ruled the world

Greek worshipped them

They made their culture and folklore

Here we go again," Thesis' beautiful voice carried out over the air.

"History is made everyday

People, places and heroes

Maybe you'll be a myth one day

Sitting on your throne," Ourea belted out the last verse.

"Oh, time again

Time ago

Walking through history train

Time ago," They finished.

They all laughed as they continued along their hike.

**Hoped you liked it.**

**Just a question for you to answer.**

**\- should there be a daughter or son of Poseidon?**

**Remember to review!**

**Thanks!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	5. Years 8-10

**Hey, I'm back.**

**Review Responses**

**CowgurlStrong- Hmm, I haven't thought of an important role that Terra could play yet. If you think of one, let me know.**

**XxBanewolvesLiveAgainxX- Thank you for voting.**

**Hans50- Thanks for your vote.**

**HammerSlammer- yeah, the old one sucked. Interesting thought on them being mean, but do you think it should be a boy or a girl?**

**Joseph- Oh, okay.**

**Guest- Good idea having twins, but I already made Bianca and Nico twins, plus all of the last children of chaos are almost like twins.**

**Torrent14- Thanks!**

**IWANTCOLOREDRAIN- You liked the song? Thanks. We were stuck on a highway so I made it up.**

**Princess InsanityXD- :) haha.**

**Deoxys- okay...**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners.**

**~when the children are eight~**

"Go Max, go!" Willow cheered, clapping her hands in the stands as her brother rounded the last corner of the track, Ollie close on his heals. "You can do it Ollie!"

A few months ago, their father had informed them they would be holding an olympics based on the track and field events. The last children of Chaos were participating along with Terra, Kyley, a daughter of Aether and Hemera, Dan, Kyley's older brother, Susan, a daughter of Ourea, and Timmy, a son of Eros and Thesis.

Currently, the boys were running the mile race. Willow sat in the stands with her sisters as she watched Max begin to kick in Ollie right behind him. The two boys were leading the race at a clipping 7:43 mile pace. Percy was behind them, still running quickly. A little ways behind them were Ethan and Paul, stride for stride, Dan a yard in front of them. Paul was faster, but Ethan had the inner lane. Drafting off them, Timmy was running hard. Hayden and Alabaster brought up the rear.

The crowd cheered loudly as Max pulled away from Ollie and crossed the finish line a beat ahead of his brother. Their hazel green track uniforms were soaked with sweat as were their black shorts. Thanatos and Hypnos the only ones without children in the games, recorded their times as Dan, Paul, Ethan, and Percy finished. Soon all the boys had finished.

"Any girls running in the 1600, please report to the starting line," Chaos voices booms. Our whole little group, Imogene, Keira, Mia, Amy, Holly, Kyley, Terra, Susan and I made our way down the stairs out onto the track.

Unlike the traditional Greek Olympics, we did not compete naked. Instead we wore some of the clothes that mortal competing in track meets would wear. Willow and Imogene wore hazel green shirts with black shorts. Nyx's kids wore navy blue tank top with black shorts. Terra wore a blood red shirt and black shorts with red flames down the side. Ananke's children wore purple tank tops with black shorts. Kyley and her brother Dan wore bright yellow shorts with tan brown shorts. Susan wore a bright white shirt with brown shorts.

Hypnos held out a black bowler hat that has little slips of paper in it. Each paper has a number one through eight, referring to the lane that you will be in. To be fair, the lanes will be random.

Imogene got lucky when she pulled and received a one. She moved to the inner track. Mia got a seven while Keira pulled a four. Willow plunged her hand into the hat and grabbed a slip. Five, not horrible, but certainly not great. Susan took the outside lane with a nine. Kyley drew a three while Terra grabbed the two. Holly drew the eight while her sister, Amy, got the six.

The nine girls got into their lanes. Thanatos stepped in front of them with the starting gun in his hand. "A few rules for starters. You must complete four laps around the track. Once the gun goes off you may move from your respective lane, as long as you don't cut anyone off. You must run OUTSIDE of the thick white line in lane one for your time to count. You may not touch your hands to the ground throughout the race or the start. The clock stops when your torso, not your arms, legs, or head, crosses the finish line. Any questions?"

No one speaks up. "Okay, I'll say, On your marks. At that time you may get into your starting position. Then the gun will go and the race has begun. Hypnos will ring a bell when the first people have one more lap."

Keira smiles reassuringly from beside Willow. "Good luck."

"Run fast, little dark hair," Willow uses her best friend's nickname. The two exchange smiles.

"Take your mark," Thanatos commands. Willow focuses her game and gets into the lunge starting position.

The gun fires a blank into the air and the race has begun. Willow sprinted off the line, not too fast, but enough to get ahead of the pack. She darted across lanes three and four, far enough ahead of Kyley and Keira not to cut them off. Making for lane one, the daughter of Gaia found that it was being held by none other than her own sister, Imogene.

She's my full-blooded sister. Of course we will have similar abilities. But if she has a shorter distance to run, how am I ever going to be able to get into lane one? She pondered as they rounded the second turn, having to run faster than Imogene to keep with her. The two breeze the first lap at a blinding speed as fast as the boy's.

As they rounded the first corner, Willow is able for the first time to see how everyone else is running in the mile. Kyley and Terra were running side by side, Keira and Mia just a step behind them. In a pack, Amy, Holly, and Susan run together, but Susan is slowly pulling away.

They continue to fly around the track for the second lap. Thanatos reads their time to Hypnos as they race by. "3:58. Not as fast as their brothers, but very quick."

The third lap is flying by. Both girls are tiring, but neither wants to be the one to drop back. For Imogene to drop back, it would mean giving Willow access to the inner lane and an easy win. For Willow to drop back would mean that Imogene would nothing standing in her way to the victory.

Hypnos rings a bell as the duo race across the line. Both open a can of fast for the final lap.

Willow's right leg stutters a little as she strides forward on the first turn of the final no, not now, she thought as she struggled to keep the pace with her ailing knee. Even five years after discovering the disease in her right leg, nothing could be fixed and she still had to wear the black knee brace. The brace is clicking normally but Willow's knee wasn't cooperating.

Combined with the speedy pace she was holding and the strain on her leg, Willow's knee gives out. She gasps and begins to fall. Time seems to slow down as the girl falls towards the ground. "A tree always has the strongest roots. If a part of it gets chopped off, it finds another way to do something," Willow remembers her father telling her once. Then she realizes what she must do.

Imogene is almost thirty feet of ahead of Willow. Jumping forward, Willow began to take long, gliding strides, taking the pressure of her knee. Gritting her teeth, Willow begins to close the gap between the two girls, running in the inner lane to save energy. With only a two hundred left, the younger daughter of Gaia is five feet behind her sister. Stretching her legs, Imogene sees her sister coming and runs even faster.

It's the final one hundred of the race and Willow is only a stride behind Imogene. Both began sprinting for the finish line. Ninety feet, eighty, seventy, then sixty, only fifty yards left. Thirty feet away from the finish Willow makes up her mind. It's all or nothing. Gathering the last of her strength, Willow bolts for the finish line like a possessed girl.

Slowly, Willow inches ahead of Imogene. The older girl notices and tries to compensate, but it's too late. Willow crosses the finish line, a second ahead of Imogene. Thanatos is reading times off to Hypnos while he scribbles them down, but nothing reaches Willow's ears. She feels like she has been dipped in hell fire and sent running through the river Styx and Phlegethon. Her muscles ache so much that as soon as she walks with Imogene to the infield, she has to sit down before she falls over. Letting their heart rates return to normal, the two girls wait for the others to finish.

Imogene has a sour look on her face as the sisters watch Mia cross the finish line. "What's wrong?" Willow asked. We both ran fast, 7:42's. Hypnos had showed her the time.

"Nothing," Imogene replies, but there is a hard edge to her voice.

-Several Hours Later-

After a long day of competing in various events, the children gather at a podium near the track for an awards ceremony. They had put on track jackets but left their running stuff Olympic track meet was two days long, several events each day. On day one, there was 100 sprints, 300 hurdles, 400 mid distance, and 3200 long distance for running. In field and jumping, the events were high jump and discus. Day two had the 200 sprints, 800 run, and 1600 long distance along with 100 hurdles, shot put and long jump. All eighteen of the children gathered to win their awards.

Hayden won the 100 sprints for the boys while Amy took the girls. Willow and Ollie won the 3200 while Mia and Ethan took the 400. Paul snatched the 800 with Keira dominating the girls. In the 200, Holly and Alabaster swept the field. Willow and Max took first in the 1600.

Percy and Susan both won all the hurdles. Terra and Timmy leapt high with the high and long jumps, winning by a lot. Siblings Dan and Kyley brought home the first in the shot put and discus.

As Willow stepped on the top of the podium to receive her first place medals, she never felt prouder of her achievement. Imogene's sour faces had been bothering her but she brushed that to the back of her mind.

She smiled wide as her father Chaos rested the blue ribbon around her neck. He gives her a small grin before stepping away.

Soon after all the medals and ribbons were awarded, the last children plus Kyley, Terra, Susan, Dan, and Timmy head for pizza with Chaos and their parents. Still with their medals draped around their necks, they head into Void of Pizza. The waitress at the seating counter smiles at them.

"Your regular table is open as always," She informed them with a smile.

The group headed back to where the two booths and long table were available. The nine girls all squeezed into one booth. Willow was squished in between Keira and Susan, having a good time. Their parents took seats at the large table and ordered for them. Laughing the girls traded jokes, giggled as they poked their brothers, and ate lots of pizza.

Willow had fun, but Imogene's angry look on that day would always haunt her.

**~ When the Children are nine~**

Percy and his siblings walked into Chaos' classroom at promptly eight twenty nine in the morning, precisely forty seven seconds before their 'class' was scheduled to start. Along with being powerful weapon wise, they also had to be smart. In addition to their daily classes and high expectation Void schooling, they spent time with their father, learning about the galaxy and everything in it.

The classroom was unique in several ways, attached to Chaos' office. The previous day, the whole room had been a forest with poisonous and edible plants growing. They learned how to identify plants, tell whether not they were safe, and best structure of trees for sleeping in. Percy loved the days where the classroom was an experimental wilderness type. He was a hands on guy, always wanting to be in the action, not sitting at a desk listening to a lecture.

Today the classroom looked more like a mortal's classroom. Maps of America, Greece, Rome, Europe, Asia, and several others lined the walls. On the front board was a giant white sheet of paper with a family tree drawn on it, except the family tree has no names. Chaos sat at the round circular table near the board with the paper on it.

"Come sit down," Chaos beckoned them to the table.

They headed to the table and sat down. Percy put his notebook and pencils on the table. To every class, you needed to be ready to do different activities. This meant wearing comfortable clothing and always having a notebook and pencil in case you need to take notes.

"Today, we will be learning about the greek and roman gods," Chaos began walking up to the front.

"But sir," Amy asked politely. "We have already learned about them."

"It has come to my attention that one of my descendants is rising against Olympus. While the Olympians are far from being good rulers, this descendant of mine would be far worse. You will have to go to earth after you pass your test and unite the greeks and romans. You must save Olympus," Chaos explains. "And we want you be prepared as possible. I will give you three clues and you must figure out who the threat is while completing the family tree. Who wants to be the scribe?"

Mia volunteers and walks up to the board. "Where does it start?"

Chaos smiles and shrugs.

"Helix!" Percy bursts out. "It has to begin with Helix. Chaos didn't have just three children, Helix did. It couldn't have been anyone lower because the line is too long.

The other children nod while Mia writes HELIX in the top spot. "I believe it would be Order, Chaos, and Void next," Max says.

"And from Chaos, Ouranos, Gaea, Erebus, Nyx, Chronos, Ananke, Pontus, and Thalassa were born," Hayden adds.

Mia turns around to look at them. "Gaia and Ouranos had the titans who had the Olympians, so they are the ones at the top of the long chain under Chaos. Nyx and Erebus had the twins, Aether, and Hemera, so they have the next most amount of kids."

Ethan studied the board, deep in thought. "The problem is those lines connecting from Chaos to the goddesses."

Willow studies the same thing. "It's us. There are thirteen of them."

A murmur of ah's and I see's were said as Mia marked them down. They easily completed the rest of the primordials.

"This is going to get tricky now," Hayden reminded his siblings. "We need to be looking out for the threat along with filling in the chart."

"Which is where your first clue comes in about the enemy- not the oldest," Chaos informs them.

The children all look at their father with blank expressions. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Percy asks, confused.

Chaos shrugs. "You'll have to find that out for yourselves."

"All the titans came from Gaia and Ouranos. So the oldest two titans were Oceanus, the personification of the ocean, and Tethys, the titaness of the Hyperion, titan of light and the east, and Theia, titaness of sight and enlightenment, were next. Third was Koios, titan of farsight, knowledge, and the north, and his wife, Phoebe, titaness of prophecy and oracular intellect," Paul listed off his fingers while Mia wrote quickly.

"Though born third, Kronos, titan of time, and his wife, Rhea, titaness of fertility, motherhood, generation, comfort, blessing, ease, and the titan queen of the heavens, took the thrones as King and Queen of the titans," Imogene said.

Percy glanced at his sister. "Rhea had a lot of titles. How did you know them all?"

The elder daughter of Gaia shrugged. "I've been reading."

"Wait," Ollie put his hand out. "Are you seriously telling me that all these titans are my half siblings?"

"Also your nieces and nephews," Holly threw in.

Ollie shuddered. "This is messed up. Anyways, Iapetus was the titan of the mortality, pain, death, underworld, and the west, along with his wife, Themis, titaness of divine law and justice were the second youngest group."

"Lastly," Mia spoke as she wrote. "Krios, titan of the south and constellations, and his wife, Mnemosyne, titaness of memory and remembrance, were the youngest of the bunch."

"So we have the titans done but still no clue on who the enemy actually is," Alabaster sums up. "I'm guessing the six lines coming down from Rhea and Kronos are the six gods, Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera, and Zeus."

"My second clue to you is that the head of the threat is a father," Chaos said, watching the activity with interest.

"Then it can't be any of the females, Order, Ouranos, or Oceanus, because they are the oldest. Hey, all three of those guys names start with O," Percy adds.

Mia summons little red X's and puts them next to any females name or an oldest male. "Unless we can get our third clue now, we'll have to complete the chart before finding out the threat," She looks to Chaos. "I suppose we can't get our next clue now?"

Chaos shakes his head. Amy sighs. "So close. Anyways, all the lines coming down from Zeus are his fifty zillion kids. Who were all of Zeus' kids?"

"Ares."

"Persephone."

"Hebe."

"Apollo and Artemis."

"Hermes and Hephaestus."

"Dionysus."

"The muses."

"Athena."

The children slowly put together the names with the branch of the family tree. Soon, it was completed. They all turned to Chaos waiting for their final clue.

Their father scratched his chin. "You guys are getting too smart for me. I can't think of a challenge hard enough to keep you guys occupied for long. The final clue is ... son like father," He finished.

"I think we would find the answers the quickest if we compared sons to their fathers," Willow suggested.

Agreeing, the others nodded. "It can't be Zeus and any of his sons. They have nothing alike. And why would the Olympians attack the Olympians?" Alabaster reasoned.

"So we can eliminate all of the Olympians, leaving us just the titans. Wait a second," Keira turned to their father. "Is the father the threat or is it the son?"

"The son," Chaos answered simply.

The children exchanged glances as they have all silently came to the same answer. "Kronos," They said together.

Chaos applauded. "Well done. Tell me: how did you come about the answer?"

"When you said it was the son, that made it easy. We knew it already was the titans and not Oceanus. That left Hyperion, Koios, Kronos, Iapetus, and Krios," Holly explained. "Kronos was overthrown by his children just like Ouranos. So the threat is Kronos."

"I may have underestimated you. Keep up the good work," Chaos compliments and the children smile.

**~When the children are ten~**

**Percy's POV**

Perseus and his siblings plus Terra were all sitting around the table, eating dinner one night. Chaos was not present because he was in a 'Top Secret Meeting' with the other primordials that they were not allowed to attend. Something like final training or the last test. They chatted amongst themselves, finishing up their healthy dinner that Thesis had insisted they eat in order to become stronger.

As they were clearing the table, the magical servants had been given a rest, the doors swung open and Chaos walked in. He looked older than he did when they had first been born. Percy's mom, Thalassa, tried to explain to him when he was younger that Chaos was fading. He hadn't understood it until a few years ago what that truly meant.

Chaos sat in the head seat of the table. Amy and Paul hurried over with their dad's favorite foods. They were not obliged to serve him, but Chaos was so kind, you couldn't help wanting to. He smiled at his children as they laid star fruit and mac and cheese in front of him.

The next few minutes were filled with the sound of plates and silverware clinking as Chaos ate and the children washed the plates. Percy used the water from the tap and his powers over water to scrub the plates shining. His siblings used the shadows to dry the plates, the air to put them away, and manipulated the floor to bring the plates to the sink smoothly.

Their father pushed back his chair as he finished eating. Immediately, Imogene used her powers over air to sweep the plate off the table and raised the floor to carry it over to Percy, who washed it with water, before Mia lifted it out of the sink with shadows to dry it. Chaos smiled as he saw his children work like a well oiled machine- all the parts did their job well and fit together.

"Terra, would you mind go finding your father and the others to tell them it is time for them to come here? Then you are free to go," Chaos spoke to the daughter of Tartarus. She nodded. Terra, luckily, knew when it was time to let the closely knit family alone. She stood up, and let the shadows consume her.

About a minute later, sixteen people appear in the room. Ourea, the primordial of mountains, waves his tanned hand and the table elongates so all of them can sit down. Hemera summoned more chairs. Everyone pulled up a chair to the table. Without meaning to, Chaos, at the head, and the primordials sat at one end while the children with Percy at the head at the other end.

"Children," Chaos began, lacing his fingers together. "We have decided as a council that it is time for you to complete your final training."

"Final training?" Paul asked.

"Yes, it will show us whether or not you are ready for your task that lies ahead of you. If you succeed, we may send you to earth in the near future," Ouranos added.

The children looked around at each other. Earth! How they all wanted to visit the planet so much!

Eros sighed ever so lightly. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The task is hard," He turned to Chaos.

"Your task is simple. Climb the Stormy Mountain and retrieve the enchanted wood chest by two sunrises from now," Percy and the others exchanged glances, easy. "Don't get cocky now though. We have been developing tasks for you to complete."

Now Ouranos began explaining. "The rules. Number one, no teleportation is allowed. Even if you attempt to teleport, you won't move and possibly have a set back. Short teleportation like from one tree to another is allowed. Rule number two, you must begin as a group. Some of the tasks may require some people to stay behind, but only one of you may retrieve the box from the peak. Three, the moment the sun rises, you will be teleported back to the castle, box or no. If you some how happen to get to the box before hand, it will teleport you all back here. We have been developing challenges since you were born, toning them to attack your weaknesses beware."

Percy looks around at his siblings, seeing their faces less confident now. He feels the same way. "You will be teleported to the base of the mountain at sunrise tomorrow. You will have exactly twenty four hours to complete the task. The only thing you may have with you is your weapons, powers, and anything in this backpack," Thesis pulls out black hiking backpacks.

"They can't wear clothes?" Tartarus asks, appalled. "Hey, that should be a new torture in my pit. Climbing a fiery, explosive mountain naked."

"Eww no!" Gaia slaps her brother. "There's clothes in the backpacks."

"Good," Holly breathes.

"You may go," Chaos dismisses them. "I would recommend getting a good night's rest, but it wouldn't hurt to formulate a plan. Remember the task attacks your greatest weaknesses."

The children nodded before grabbing the backpacks and leaving. They headed to their meeting room. Mia, Willow, Keira, and Amy begin sorting through their backpacks, checking out the supplies they were given. Paul and Ollie grab notepads of paper before joining them. Percy activates the large holographic map. Punching in the location, stormy Mountain comes up right away. Imogene, Holly, Max, Alabaster, Ethan, and Hayden all look intently at the map.

"Imogene, Max, can you guys look for best spots to climb up? Alabaster and Holly, could you look for caves and possible resting spots? Hayden and Ethan, can you guys help me look for water and animals?" Percy instructs his siblings. They nod and get to work. Hayden pulls up his personal holographic map device that is mounted onto the table in front of him. Ethan grabs a pad of paper and a pen. Percy sits beside the two, already using his senses to find sources of water.

Using the little styluses, they mark waterfalls, streams, springs, and pools. After fifteen minutes of working, the people who had been working with the backpacks, came over to take their places at the table.

Mia tapped his shoulder. "Percy, we're finished and ready to begin when you are."

He nodded before calling the meeting to order. First they began with the backpacks. "What did you guys find in them?" Percy asked.

Amy began to read off from her list and Willow with Keira's help held up each item for the group to see. "For clothing, we have one black backpack, the backpacks will never get heavier or bigger no matter what you put in them, pair of tan zip off pants, grey dry fit t shirt, one black sweatshirt, one pair of ankle socks, one pair of hiking sneakers. All of the clothing is adaptive to size."

Ollie read the next section of the list. "Two twenty-five ounce water bottles, very durable but empty, a refilling assortment of granola bars, packs of crackers, jerky, and dried fruits, oatmeal packs, and thermoses are the food options. There is nothing sleep wise like a sleeping bag or that. But there is basic hiking supplies, ropes, pulleys, and so on. Plus these totally awesome collapsible bowls," He adds, pulling his out to demonstrate. Oh yeah, and matches and flashlights."

Max projected the map of the mountain. "No picture of the mountain peak is available; it's always too stormy to get a picture. But for the lower part of the mountain we have found several is obviously a tourist route, a worn path that is not steep, just very long. It snakes back and forth. It is the easiest route by far, yet will take the most amount of time."

"And time we do not have," Percy says, tapping his pencil. "What of the other routes?"

"One of the other routes is very steep. An almost vertical climb, we would be going straight up and over rocks. It is the quickest but the most strenuous. The third route is a mix of climbing, walking, boulder scrambling, etc," Imogene explains. "Predicted climbing time for route one is twenty six hours, route two is twenty, three is about twenty two hours."

"What did you find on resting spots?" Percy asked Holly and Alabaster.

"The only good resting spots are on the twenty six hour route. They wouldn't do us any good either way," Holly explained.

"The second route has almost no ledges to stop and rest on," Alabaster adds.

"The water we found mostly came out of the caves. There are scarce water falls or springs on route two and route one," Ethan says.

"Which route should we take?" Keira asks.

"Route one is too long, it's out," Willow states.

"Route three would be our best option. It's a mix of the two. We will have to keep a watch on time though," Hayden adds.

"All in favor?" Percy asks. Every hand goes up. "Then we will take route three. Be ready in the morning and have your weapons. You'll never know what we'll face."

**Hoped you liked it.**

**Remember to review and vote for which gender the child of Poseidon should be.**

**\- male**

**\- female.**

**Thanks!**

_**Preview for next chapter,**_

_**She slipped and fell, dangling hundreds off feet above the ground.**_

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	6. Final Test

**Thanks guys for the constant support!**

**Happy Memorial day for those who live in America! This is my memorial day present for you.**

**Review Responses**

**XxBanewolvesLiveAgainxX- Female seems to be the recurring vote.**

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**Guest- No, this is not a Percy x Goddess pairing. This is a Percy x canon character who I am not revealing yet. I think revealing the pairing too quickly ruins the surprise.**

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**I am that writer- Well, they are four year olds. They love sugar!**

**Pridewingdemigod- do not worry, I have a plan to still gently follow the books, but everything canon will be in some way affected. **

**CowgurlStrong- I read your ideas, but when they go to earth it will be focusing on the last children, the prophecy child, and the attack of the elder titans. Putting Terra as their wild card would detract away from the plot and lose some of the meaning.**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners. :)**

_**Previously, the night before,**_

_**"All in favor?" Percy asks. Every hand goes up. "Then we will take route three. Be ready in the morning and have your weapons. You'll never know what we'll face."**_

The next morning dawned quickly, yet Percy and his siblings were awake and ready to complete their task. Last night, before going to bed, they had all decided to wear the long zip off pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt, the hiking sneakers, and the socks. No recorded temperatures of Stormy Mountain had been recorded, but normal mountains were cold.

Before the sun had even began to light the horizon, the last children had been teleported to the base of the mountain. To enable that they didn't start early, all of the primordials has constructed a metal crate box to hold them in.

"All right, everyone," Percy called as Max laid the map he had brought (it wasn't against the rules) on the floor. The map was magical, showing where the holder was. Max had tried to make it show where everyone was, but the primordials said that was not allowed.

"The first priority we have is to get on the path way up and find a source of clean water," Percy explains as the first part of the sun pokes over the horizon and the metal door opens.

The children quickly follow Max to the start of the trail. Upwards they begin to climb. The trail is not bad, but after two hours of climbing, it becomes clear a consistent feeling amongst the group is doubt.

"Are you sure we are going the right way?" Mia asks Max.

Max scrunches his eyebrows together. "It should have been there the last turn."

"Do you even know where you are blindly leading us?" Hayden asks.

The son of Gaia closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, obviously getting agitated by Hayden's questioning. But before he can respond, Percy steps in.

"Guys, we'll find water, don't worry. Max is trying his best," Percy reassures everyone.

"Why don't you use your water senses?" Amy suggests. "You are powerful enough."

Percy adjusts his backpack straps. "I guess..." He trailed off, closing his eyes and concentrating. A long moment passed before anyone spoke again. "500 yards up the mountain, 17 yards to the left."

They silently cheered before resuming the hike up the mountain. Soon, Keira's head shot up.

"Listen: you can hear the running water."

The son of Thalassa had already heard it or sensed it first. Percy pulled himself up over a large rock in a steep section. Turning around, he began to help the others up over. Willow created a ledge half way up the rock to make it easier to climb. Once everyone was standing, they followed an eager Percy towards the sound of water gurgling over rocks in the stream.

The creek appeared, a blue ribbon running through the fabric of stones and grass. Glad to have reached their goal, the children ran happily toward it. Several pulled out their water bottles while others searched in their bags for the filters they had been given.

Hayden dropped to his knees, thirsty for a drink. Mia knelt beside her half brother. Looking up at Percy, Hayden asked a question.

"Is the water safe to drink?" He asked, his hands already moving towards the surface of the water.

"It should be. The water is running fast and it looks clear..."

This was all the answer Hayden needed. He plunged his hands into the stream and cupped some water into his mouth. The water was cool and refreshing as it slid down his desert dry throat. Then something strange began to happen. He could feel a bubbling sensation in his throat like he had had a soda (the ones Tartarus had snuck them). Mia had filled her water bottle and was pouring the water over her hands when Hayden's insides began to blister. He screamed as boils grew wherever the water had touched. His hands turned into inflated gloves. His siblings stopped to look at him, Imogene's hands centimeters from the water.

Mia fell backwards as the water took it's toll on her hands and arms. The children watch in horror as the effect of touching the water is shown on the outside. Large blisters form, swelling until they may pop like balloons. Hayden slumps forward, unconscious. Mia soon follows.

Amy is the first to react. She grabs her backpack and rushes over to her brother and best friend. But before she can find anything to treat the wounds, Mia and Hayden disappear in a soft mist.

Pandemonium breaks out amongst the children. _What's going on? Why did the water cause blisters? Where did they go? _The water in the stream begins to churn. Fearful of the water's dark power, the children step back. A small vortex forms until a woman appears. Though her skin color and hair color are now blue, she is easily recognizable.

"Mother," Percy nods his head before her.

"Hello Percy," Thalassa nods her head to the rest of the children.

Unable to hold it in anymore, Paul blurts out, "Where did our siblings go?"

"Never fear, they are safe. They are currently being treated for their wounds, perfectly safe. This was my challenge to you. Whenever someone experiences unconsciousness on this trip, they will be removed out of the test. Now I have wasted enough of your precious time," Thalassa begins to fade away.

"Wait!" Imogene calls. "How will we find water?"

In the swirling of the river, one watered finger points towards Percy. Then the water is still agan.

"What are we going to do?" Ollie asks. "How can you find water?"

"I don't know. But time is wasting," Percy looks up to the sky. The sun seems to be almost at the noon point, travelling much faster than it should be. "We need to get going."

They continue up the mountain, but the mood is darker. The primordials are not going to make this an easy test. They aren't afraid to hurt them in order for them to complete the test.

As the walk along a narrow cliff path, Percy freezes in his tracks. He turns his head to stare at the rock wall.

"Percy, what is it?" Alabaster asked, his head slightly tilted.

"There's water. In the rocks," The other boy replied.

The children stare blankly at him. "There is an underground, er, under rock stream flowing right here. The only problem is I don't know how to get it out," Pausing for a moment, Percy pauses to think. "I think this is our next challenge."

"To get water?" Ollie asked.

"No, something else. I'm going to try something a little risky. Stand back," The children move back as Percy finishes.

His sea green eyes flutter close. As if moved on an impulse, Percy draws out his axe. Eyes still closed, he raises it up and brings the oceanic steele side of the double head to the rock. Water begins to gush freely from the rock. They cheer. Percy quickly steps back to avoid being hit by the water, if it is still posionious.

"What will we do now?" Paul voiced the question they were all thinking.

"Percy, do you think you can manage to get some water into a canteen without spilling it?" Willow asks. The son of Thalassa nods, but still looks confused at his half sister's request. Keira pulls her canteen out of her backpack and hands it to him. With the skill of a master, Percy directs the water into the canteen, not spilling a drop.

"What now? Should we use a filter?"

"No, not yet. Pour some of the water on this plant," Willow indicates the small leafy plant growing in between the crack of the dusty rock wall and the path. Percy pours a small amount of water onto the plant. Nothing happens.

Holly looks thoughtful as if slowly understanding where Willow's going with this. "I think what Willow means is that we need to test the water before we go and drink it."

Silence falls on the group. Who would risk being taken out of the task to find safe water?

"I'll do it," Keira says boldly. Percy looks at her, surprised. Keira was never the bold one. "I'm going to pour a little water on my pinky finger. Nothing more. It will be fine."

Still unsure, Percy hands her the canteen. Keira pours a few drops of water onto her finger. The whole mountain seems to be holding their breaths, waiting. Percy counts to thirty in his head. Then a minute.

"Still fine," Keira said with a relieved smile. Once again, the children cheered, jumping under the waterfall, filling canteens, and refreshing themselves. Soon though it was time for them to continue on their journey.

After walking for several more minutes, they reached a cave passage that they had to walk through. Yet, just inside the cave, four large boulders stopped their path.

"We can try short distance teleport," Alabaster offered, attempting it. His image flickered before he disappeared, then reappeared with a sharp crack. He flinched as he received a shock. "Guess that's not going to work."

"This is still part of the same challenge I think," Holly said as she examined the boulders.

"Going outside your comfort zone," Willow said.

"What?" Ethan asked.

"Percy summoned the water, trusting his instincts. Keira tested the water even though it could have hurt her. And now, it's our turn to let you guys through," Willow walked forward and lifted up the largest boulder using her powers over earth and wind, directly in the middle. The truck sized rock hoved ten feet of the ground, several feet below the roof of the cave. Max joined his sister and lifted the boulder in the middle. Ollie and Imogene exchanged glances before hoisting their respective boulders.

The children began the treacherous descent through the cave as their siblings hold high the rocks. The climb is difficult with many loose stones and long. They pass through Ollie's section and he sets down his boulder to follow them.

Imogene holds her rock high as they walk through the section under the boulder. Many times they glance up fearfully at the rock, waiting for it to crush them. But they make it through without a glitch.

Max begins to tire as he has been holding his rock for almost fifteen minutes now. The tone is not happy, but hurried and rushed with the sense of insecurity you get from walking under a six hundred pound rock.

Willow's face is sweating at they pass under the rock she holds high for so long. For a moment, her hold on the boulder quavers and everyone fearfully watches the boulder. But Willow stables it and they all make it out.

The four children of Gaia collapse, exhausted outside the cave. They are back on their cliff side path. Amy hands the four granola bars to try and regain their strength. Mumbling a thanks, they tear into the bars.

The others stand up and look at the path in front of them. Well, lack of path would be a better way to describe it. For thirty feet in front of them, the dirt path is completely gone, dropped off. The slippery rock wall beside it offers no alternate route. The children of Gaia join them, realizing their predicament.

Amy closes her eyes and thinks about what to do. Suddenly, in her mind, a bridge appears where the gap is. The bridge hardly looks solid, but it seems to be made of wind, rocks, and sticks.

"Guys, I got it. We can make a bridge across the gap," She kneels down to draw her plan in the loose dirt. The others nod, catching on.

Soon, they are all in their positions. Willow and Imogene have summoned an assemblage of rocks while Ollie and Max collected a posse of sticks. The children of Ananke stood ready to hold the collection of items in the air. Percy was prepared to harden the moisture in the air to make a more stable bridge. Nyx's children had sticks and rocks in their hands, ready to form the bridge.

"Go!" Amy called. Gaia's and Nyx's children worked together to throw all of the rocks into the air. Amy, Alabaster, and Holly made a barrier of wind so that the items would stop falling. Percy hardened the moisture into a almost ice.

"Get across!" Alabaster instructed as his sister and he worked hard to hold the bridge in the air. The others ran swiftly across the bridge to the other side. The children of Ananke follow them across the bridge.

The moment Holly's foot touches the other side, the bridge collapses. She stumbles, but Paul catches her.

"We must continue on," Paul says as he checks the lowering sun.

An half hour passes before they stop to rest. Ethan and Alabaster both head over to the same rock in the shade. Ethan sits down first.

"Hey!" Alabaster says indignantly. "I was going to sit there."

Ethan looks at him annoyed and rolls his eyes. "There's other rocks."

Angry, Alabaster shoves him off the rock. Smirking he sits down on the rock only to have found it's moved.

"Guys," Max says as he moves the rock out their reach. "There's no need to fight."

Both glare at him. "We should keep moving," Imogene says, standing up.

As they walk along, Alabaster begins to feel more and more annoyed at Ethan. He's always getting the spotlight. And SHE likes him more. SHE pays more attention to him. Alabaster purposely steps in front of Ethan, cutting him off. The son of Nyx looks pissed, but Willow touches his arm and pulls him back. That only fuels his anger. Getting up into Ethan's face, the son of Ananke speaks his mind.

"Why do you think you're so much cooler than me? Why do you always fake injuries to get the girls to swoon over you? Huh? Huh?"

Ethan's normally tan face goes red with anger. "I never do anything like that!" Then his face gets an evil smirk. "Why do you always opt out of lessons to do nothing? Why do you never think before you speak?"

Willow steps up to try and calm Alabaster down, but he shoves her backwards into Imogene. Her older sister's face gets an ugly scowl. "You," She growls.

"What about me?" Willow shoots back.

"YOU always steal everything that is rightfully mine. YOU are mother's favorite little girl. YOU are Ouranos' special one. YOU are the problem," Imogene screams at her sister.

The others exchange glances. _What the heck is going on?_ Until, Keira and Holly begin a glaring contest. Ethan and Alabaster have drawn their weapons, ready to beat the pulp out of each other. Willow is yelling back at Imogene.

"Why are you always so secretive? Why are you obsessed with the research you do on the titans? Why are you such an ignorant prick!" Willow shoves her sister hard. Both summon their staffs and begin to approach each other, menacing looks in their eyes.

Keira and Holly have turned their glaring contest into an insult contest. "You're the perfect model girl, the teacher's pet," Keira taunts.

"Well, you're the hell's devil. I wouldn't even put you at the rank of an angel," Holly throws back.

Percy, Amy, Max, Ollie and Paul exchange worried glances. _This wasn't like their sibling, they never fought this way before. Something was making them fight like this._

"Guys," Amy tried to reason. "This fighting isn't helping us at all."

The three fighting pairs turned towards Amy. "It's none of your business, Miss Goody two shoes," Keira spit. Amy's face pales and she steps back suddenly. Max steadies her.

Ollie pointed to the creek and Percy got the message. Silently, he willed the water, after testing it of course, to form a large wave. Then he let it go on the oblivious pairs fighting. The water was cold, jerking them from whatever spell they had been under.

Willow looked at them. "What's going on?"

"The next test," Ollie says leaning against his staff. "This challenge is meant to attack your weaknesses. The six of you hold a small grudge about someone else. A primordial chose to test this. Bringing the feelings back to the surface and boiling your anger, Bam! You were fighting!"

"I'm sorry if I said anything that offended you," Willow apologized. The others said similar phrases.

"Wait, you guys don't remember what just happened?" Amy asked. They shook their heads.

"Is it just me or is the weather getting really weird?" Paul asked as he turns his head up to look at the sky. One moment the sun is out, blinding them, and the next, dark grey clouds have covered over the sun. The wind begins to pick up.

"It's the weather," Ollie reassures him. "We should try to find a cave or a safer trail than this one. If the wind blows harder or it starts pouring rain, I don't like our chances on this path."

They followed Ollie across a rocky field. Half way across, rain began to beat down on them. Footing became slippery. They had to use their weapons, each other, to avoid falling.

Amy was just climbing over a large rock to look ahead when her foot slipped on the slippery rock surface. Her hands frantically grabbed for a handhold, but none were to be found on the wet rock. She fell off the tallest end, six feet off the ground onto her left leg.

Slamming into the ground, she screamed. Her backpack had prevented her head from getting hurt, but it had done nothing for her left leg. A sharp crack could be heard and her leg was bent at an odd angle.

The other children's mouth fell open as they rushed over to her, trying not to slip and fall. Max reached her first. His hands getting brushed her lower leg where the foot was snapped oddly outward. She cried out as rain poured down on them, sticking their hair to their faces and making it hard to see.

"It's broken," Max murmured.

"Just leave me here, we're running out of time to complete the task," Amy pants, her leg causing her great pain.

"No," Percy says. "We're not leaving you out here in the rain to rot."

"But you can't travel with me. I'll slow you down!" She protests.

"We're not leaving you behind, that's final," Alabaster adds.

"We have to leave some backpacks behind," Willow says. "Max can't carry his own backpack, Amy, and her backpack."

"I'll leave mine behind," Percy volunteers.

"Me too," Max seconds.

"No, yours has the map. I'll leave mine," Amy suggests weakly.

"No, you need the supplies, I will leave mine," Keira says, dropping her backpack to the ground. She shoulders Amy's while Percy takes Max's. Max picks up Amy gently and, with the help of Willow, settles her on his back. They continue on.

"Up there, a cave," Ollie and Paul who were scouting ahead find. The cave is a few hundred yards above the place where they turned back on the trail. They enter through a small back opening to find that the front entrance looks out on the path they were on. Max sets Amy down against the wall. Keira and Percy lay down the backpacks they were carrying while Willow stands at the cave trail entrance. She watches as lightning streaks across the sky. Sighing she helps Paul and Ollie find sticks for a fire.

"We need to try and set you leg in a makeshift cast," Holly says as she kneels beside her sister. Carefully, she rolls up the pant leg of Amy. The sight is not a pretty one. The impact of her fall pushed the bone almost out of the skin. Holly opens her backpack and pulls out a roll of bandages. She turns to Willow, Paul, and Ollie. "Can you guys find four long sturdy sticks?"

"Sure," Willow says as she dumps a barrage of sticks in front Ethan and Percy who have matches. The boys begin to arrange them in a strategical positions while Imogene makes a rock circle.

Paul walks over and hands Holly two sticks about as tall as his waist. "Here," Holly grabs the sticks and lays them next to Amy's leg.

"We are going to have to pop the bone back in before we can set the leg," Alabaster tells her sister. Holly nods and holds the leg in place while Alabaster gets ready to push. Max holds Amy's hand for support.

_Pop! _Amy takes a sharp intake of breath, never the less, the bone is back in place. Alabaster holds the two sticks on either side of the leg while Holly tightly wraps the bandage around it. Grabbing his backpack, Max puts it behind Amy's back.

Ollie and Willow return with two sticks that come up to their shoulders. "Could you guys make those into like crutches?" They nod and begin doing so.

Ethan looks over at them sadly. "I hate to be the one to say it, but we need to continue on. Time is slipping by faster than we thought possible."

Amy gets a look of grim determination on her face. "I'm staying back. I'll slow you guys down too much. And it's perfectly safe in the cave. I have a backpack with enough food."

"Someone will stay behind with you. I will," Percy says.

"No, you guys all need each other. I have the crutches and my weapons to protect me. Go!" Amy sounds on the verge of tears. The siblings hang their heads before relenting. They grab their backpacks and continue up the trail. Once she is sure they are gone, Amy puts her head in her hands and cries. _Sacrifices, _she thinks bitterly, _That was the challenge._

Their feet seem to weigh a million pounds as every step takes them farther and farther from Amy. The gloomy rain adds to the effect. Even Percy, who always stays dry, is getting chills from the cold rain. Each are so absorbed in their own thoughts, they hardly notice the next challenge.

Willow falls back beside Keira. "Is it just me or is there something up there?" She whispers, pointing at the moving shapes in the darkness.

Keira carefully studies the moving shapes. "Maybe just trees blowing..." She never got to finish the sentence as a huge boulder the size of a house comes flying out of no where, straight at them.

"Hit the wall!" Willow screams. The siblings slam themselves flat into the rock wall. The boulder sails over their heads, missing them by a hair.

"What the hec-" Paul begins before Percy yells, "Flat!"

"I can't stop the boulders!" Imogene yells. "Something else is forcing them down!"

More boulders begin sailing from somewhere. "Anyone else think this is our next challenge!" Holly yells over the wind.

"Yah think?" Ethan yells back. A boulder comes flying out of no where towards the son of Nyx. Ollie yanks him back in time. "Thanks buddy."

"No problem, just be careful," Ollie replies.

"Imogene!" Willow screams as a rock falls silently towards her sister. Max's eyes widen as he realizes he is the closest one to Imogene. He shoves his sister out of the way and only has a second to brace himself before the boulder hits him straight on.

"NO!" Imogene screams as the boulder continues down the mountain.

"Max!" Willow tries to run after him, but Ethan is holding her back. "Let me go!" She kicks his shins.

"We have to get you somewhere safe," Ethan carries her while the others drag her siblings while them too. After another fifteen minutes of boulder dodging, the rocks stop falling. The rain continues to pour down like the children of Gaia's tears.

"The boulder was supposed to hit me," Imogene sobbed. "Max..."

**Meanwhile, several hundred feet below**

Amy sat, crying to herself in the cave all alone. _Why did I have to break my leg? Why did it have to rain? Why did we have to do this stupid challenge? _She shivered as the chill from the rain begins to freeze her. As the mountain begins to shake from the core, she huddles closer to the fire, watching the boulders fall from the sky. Then, far off in the distance, she hears several piercing screams.

Seconds later, an object lands with a thump on the trail outside Amy's cave. She peers out as a huge boulder threatens to crush the object.

"Oh no you don't," She used her power over wind to direct the boulder away from the object. Grabbing her crutches she painfully gets to her feet. Each step causes unimaginable pain. _Could that be? It is. _

She rushes forward, stumbling, falling. Pain shoots up her leg, but she is so happy to see the boy, it doesn't matter.

"Max," She says, gently brushing his soaked black hair out his eyes.

His hazel green eyes open slowly. "Amy," He says, his voice full of relief and pain from his fall. "I told you I would stay with you."

"I knew you would come back," And since neither of them can move, they lay there, enjoying each other's company as the rain pours down on them.

**Back with the other last**

"Guys," Percy says. "I think we're at our next challenge."

Imogene's head snaps up. Her eyes take in the odd landscape. Here the rain has stopped, but it is hard to see with the heavy mist. An odd pattern of green grass squares dot the ground. On the opposite side, their trail continues up the mountain, but nine tall stone figures block their path. The last exchange glances.

"Primordial chess," Percy and Alabaster say together.

"Mother," Kiera, Paul, and Ethan say.

"What?" Ollie asks, confused.

"Nyx loves primordial chess, it would only make sense that she would choose it for her challenge. There are three strategical points to the game, the back center, and the two front end lines," Ethan begins.

"You move normally like a pawn, except when you go to capture a piece, you are challenging them. Everyone can only move one or two squares. There is a queen, king, one scout, two knights, two bishops, and two tooks. Queens are the hardest to beat, then knights, bishops, rooks, scouts, kings," Paul explains.

"Paul, you take the king spot. Keira, the queen. Willow and Imogene, the knights, Olllie and Ethan, the bishops. Rooks, Holly and Alabaster. I'll take the scout," Percy directs.

They get into their positions, the back row consisting of Ollie, Kiera, Paul, and Ethan While the front row holds, Holly, Willow, Percy, Imogene, and Alabaster. Everyone draws their weapons then turns to look at Paul.

"What?" He asks, confused.

"Paul, you're the best one at chess. The king is the one who directs the others," Keira reminds him.

"The other team goes first," Paul replies.

Sure enough, the other team's scout moves forward. The game has begun. Paul is busy directing others. They fight hard, taking down the other team's scout and a rook.

"Ollie, challenge the queen," Paul calls out. "It's the only way to get her to move."

"I understand and I accept my duty," Ollie takes a deep breath before stepping two squares forward. He holds his scythe in his hands, ready. The queen stands blankly in front of him.

Faster than the eye can follow, the queen moves her scepter with a lightning speed and slams Ollie so hard in the chest, he flies off of the chess board. Paul winces. He hated it, practically sentencing his best friend to his death. Even with Ollie's skill, he stood no chance against a queen. The other team moves their bishop forward.

Paul freezes as he thinks. If he were to move Holly forward to challenge the bishop, Keira could easily take the king and they would win. But the queen is the toughest player to beat. Ollie was already defeated by her. Only Keira would stand a chance. But if he moves Keira to attack, he will endanger Percy and Willow.

Holly turns around to look at Paul. "I'm sorry," She says softly. Stepping forward, Holly draws her whip, challenging the bishop. Paul can't speak. Just as fast as the queen, the bishop swats Holly into the air.

The other team's rook moves back a step. Keira holds her spear tightly in her hand as she walks forward towards the king. The stone king, pulls off his crown and throws it at her feet. As in traditional primordial chess, Keira stabs it with her spear. The stone pawns disappear, signalling the game over. The children rush over to where Holly and Ollie landed, but the two have disappeared. Paul feels a hand on his shoulder. It's Percy.

"Paul, you did what you had to do. No one blames you for it. It's part of being a leader," Percy consoles him.

"We will finish, for our fallen siblings," He replies. The others get determined looks on their faces and they continue upward.

Soon they find themselves in the middle of a deep forest. The air is muggy from the recent rain. The plants are green and lush.

"How much time do we have left?" Keira asks as they trudge along.

"It's about eleven o clock nighttime," Imogene replies before realizing what she was saying. "What? How did that happen?"

"It must be Chronos' doing. The sun will rise at four thirty tomorrow morning. We have to start hurrying up," Alabaster said.

"Do you guys feel that?" Willow asks.

"Feel what?" Keira replied.

"The birds, they have stopped singing," Willow says, looking around.

"Look out!" Percy calls.

A monkey with red eyes shoots out of a tree towards Keira. She screams, trying to shove it away. Soon more and more monkeys are attacking them. In the chaos, someone yells, "Run!"

They take off through the trees, pushing away prickling branches, jumping over roots. Breaking through the tree line, they stop to rest.

"Wait, where's Keira?" Ethan asked. A small leaf flutters to the ground. In loopy lettering, a name is signed, _Thesis._

"I can't believe we just abandoned her," Percy says, his fatal flaw of loyalty showing through. "But we have to keep pushing on."

Night had fallen by now, their path lit by the ever present fog and a few stars. The fog makes everything eery and spooky. Willow doesn't know if she's just imagining it, but she thinks she can see the faces of her fallen siblings. Keira's face looms above her and she jumps backward, almost falling of the cliff. Luckily, Imogene grabs her wrist.

"Does the air feel really cold to anyone else?" Paul asks, his teeth chattering.

"I'm afraid," Imogene whispers as she steps closer to her siblings. "This doesn't feel right."

They continue onward, sticking close in the oddly cold weather. Suddenly, Percy's face goes a sickly shade of white.

"I tried," Percy murmured. "I tried so hard to save you," He puts his hands over his ears and shakes his head wildly.

"What's going on, Percy?" Imogene asked.

"Mia and Hayden, can't you see them?" He replies.

"Percy, they were taken out of the challenge by the primordials," Paul looks at Percy worriedly.

Willow can suddenly hear and see what Percy is dealing with. Mia and Hayden stand there, a ghostly color for their skin instead of their usual tan.

"You see, Percy," Ghost Mia taunts. "You're going crazy! You could have saved us from the water. The only one who could have."

Opening her mouth to stick up for him, two figures appear in front of Willow. "Keira?" She asks quietly.

The girl glares murderously at her. Alabaster and Ethan step up beside her. "Willow, it's okay," Ethan soothes, touching her shoulder. He gasped sharply, falling to his knees. Alabaster catches him, but now two more figures have joined the suffering four. Max and Amy circle around Alabaster and Ethan, asking why they couldn't save them.

"Willow, I thought we were friends," Keira says. "But you left me to rot in that forest! What kind of friend does that?"

"S-S-stop!" Willow cries out.

Paul and Imogene soon enter the ghost dimension. "What's going on?" Paul asks shakily before two more ghosts appear.

"Why did you kill us?" Ollie ask Paul. "If you were better at chess, you could have saved me."

"You could have challenged the bishop," Holly torments Imogene. "You could have won."

"Yaaaahhhhh!" Imogene yells slashing through the misty image of her friend with her staff. Holly lets out an unearthly scream before clawing at Imogene, both of them disappearing.

This gives Paul strength to fight the ghosts. "You are lying!" He screams at Ollie before ripping his spear through Ollie and Keira. He too disappears along with all of the other ghosts.

The remaining four of the last fall to the round. Beside Ethan lies a small skull with _Thanatos written in blood. _

"Was that real?" Percy asks.

"They were ghosts," Ethan says as he pulls Willow to her feet. "We need to keep moving. Time's running out."

"Agreed," Alabaster said. "This place is creeping me out."

The four continued upward. After hiking for a while, Ethan began to feel tired. "Hey guys, we've been hiking for so long, we should stop and take a short rest," He falls behind.

"No," Percy argues. "We need to keep moving."

Half an hour later, Percy feels his eyes closing. "Guys, I'm just going to stop and take a short nap."

"Yeah," Ethan yawned. "I'm exhausted," He sits down on a rock and promptly falls asleep.

"Good idea," Percy says, dozing off.

"We have been hiking for so long," Alabaster says plopping down on the ground. Willow feels her eyes beginning to close. The wind swirling around them has a faint laughter to it. _I recognize that voice, _Willow thinks. _After a nap, I'll figure it out. _No! Her subconscious cries. Willow pulls out one of her knifes and slashes her hand. Instantly, she is awake. As the laughter dies down, she finally places it. _Hypnos! He's trying to make us fall asleep!_

Willow runs over to Alabaster and shakes him hard. "Wake up Alabaster!" She screams in his ear. "We're being tricked!" She pulls her water bottle out of her backpack and dumps cold water on the three boys.

They sit bolt upright and yell, "Coming mother!" After the long day and night's events, it's a relief to laugh.

"You were about to fall asleep. I had to wake you up somehow," Willow reasons. They glare at her but continue on.

Trudging up the hill, Percy tries to see the top of the mountain,. "I think we're almost there," He says.

Swiftly, Alabaster tenses and pulls out his bow. He fires a purple arrow straight into the trees where a monster, a small green ball of fuzz, falls dead.

Suddenly, dozens of monsters charge from the woods surrounding the clearing. Alabaster shoots arrow after arrow, killing monster after monster. Percy uses his axe like a boomerang, destroying hordes of them. Ethan uses a combination of chains and spear while Willow twirls her scythe like a master.

Soon, the monsters are piles of golden dust, when a group of cyclopes rush out of the woods and grab Alabaster, dragging him away.

"Come on, we have to go rescue him!" Percy yells.

"No time!" Willow calls back, pointing at the horizon. The line is beginning to get lighter. "The sun's coming up! We have to hurry!"

The three of them take off towards the peak, bounding over rocks, leaping up trails, and sprinting hard. They reach the peak just as the sun's about to crest the hill. Ethan cups his hands and Willow runs forward. He flings her towards the box. Her fingertips stretch outward just as the sun's rays light up the mountain.

Darkness covers them before the light comes back in a blinding white way. All thirteen of them, even those who were taken, are in an infirmary. Hayden and Mia lay comfortably on white hospital beds along with Ollie, Holly, Keira, Imogene, Paul, and Alabaster. Max and Amy collapse weakly on the floor, their injuries still there.

A Void nurse hurries over and helps Percy, Ethan, Amy, Max, and Willow into hospital beds. Along with a doctor and another nurse, they begin to treat the more serious wounds. Each of them is given a flask of nectar.

Soon the door opens and Chaos walks in. He summons a chair and sits in front of their ring of hospital beds.

"Did we pass the test?" Keira asks excitedly.

"Oh, I was planning to wait until you have all rested and been cured," Chaos said, a silver sparkle in his eyes.

"Father," They all groaned except for Willow.

"Fine. Willow?" Chaos looks to Willow. The daughter of Gaia smiles proudly and holds up the small brown wooden box clutched tightly between her fingers. The others cheer loudly. The nurse clucks her tongue in disapproval.

"Yes, you all passed," He said with a wide grin.

"Even Hayden and I?" Mia asks.

"Yes, you have all proven yourselves worthy. You have faced your greatest fears and overcome them. You have strengthened your bonds with one another and proved to the council you can do anything if you work together."

The children cheered once again. "Now, get some rest so we can begin training for your missions," They groaned, but they still had happy smiles stretched across their faces.

Chaos got up and closed the door as he left the room.

**End of chapter six. I hope you liked it. Next chapter we are going to earth, but a few years will have passed.**

**Remember to leave a review! If you have nothing to review about, tell me your favorite thing to do when the weather gets warm.**

**Thanks!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	7. Welcome!

**Now the plot starts.**

**I am really excited where this will go, so I will try to update more often. I am finishing up my school year though with lots of tests and projects, so I don't know how much time I will get to write. PLEASE do not review stating, "I think Storm Rising deserves an update." I'll get there, all in good time.**

**Review Responses**

**theAceMT- I know who Hydros is. I use him because he is the primordial of water in my one story, Storm Rising. I did not forgot him. I just chose not to put him in. He has faded in the last children of Chaos.**

**Ancient Tide- I'M ADDICTED TO THIS STORY TOO!**

**Guest- Well, I don't know if I consider one week soon, but I was busy.**

**Deoxys- I actually do have an extremely intricate plot line written by yours truly. This chapter gets immediately into that.**

**XxBanewolvesLiveAgainxX- Thanks!**

**aliissa- True AU stories are hard to do because there is a fine line between following the series and making it your own.**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners.**

**Timeskip 3 years (the last would be twelve going on thirteen)**

**Hades' Palace, Underworld**

Hades was mad. No, furious, a burning rage would be a better way to describe what he was feeling at the moment. He paced in front of his throne of skulls, running his hands through his oily hair. Alecto, his head fury, cowered in front of him. His black robes billowed out behind him as he stalked back and forth.

"I told you to check the school for monsters before you put Bianca and Nico in it! Did you do what I asked? No! You put them in a military school," He glanced down at the report Alecto had written. "_Westover Hall_. You are a minion of the underworld! Can't you freaking sense when there are several monsters in the school? I told you to stay there with them. Had you stayed, Bianca and Nico would have better chance for survival. But you left them to the wolves! You even stayed with that daughter of Barnacle Beard for several months and you didn't even bother to stay with MY CHILDREN!"

Alecto was shaking. "I am sorry my lord. I will go back to the school now and enroll as a teacher."

"No," Hades spit with disgust. "You have messed up enough today. These are my children- they will be the children of the great prophecy. No mistakes can be made in this area. Nor will I send any of other sisters. You all share the same trait of messing up," Hades sits back down on his throne, his rage over. He stroked his chin, trying to think of a plan to keep his children safe. They had no weapons, no clues, nothing to help them survive, get to their father or even, Tartarus forbid, that blasted demigod camp.

Thanatos stood in the shadows, watching Hades' rant. Chaos had sent him here, saying,_ "There will be an opportunity for the children to go to earth."_ Confused since the underworld wasn't exactly earth, Thanatos returned to the palace of Hades. He wasn't one to displease his grandfather. Catching on to Chaos' idea, he was starting to see how the children could get to earth and get on Hades' good side. Contrary to Olympian belief, Hades was one of the most powerful gods and earning his favor would be a step in the right direction for the trust they needed to win the war.

"My lord," Thanatos said respectfully, stepping out of the shadows.

"What Thanatos? Can't you see I'm annoyed and thinking?" Hades says without looking up.

Smiling to himself, Thanatos thinks of what the last children would say if they were here. _Hades actually thinks?_

"My lord, correct me if I am wrong, but the problem is that your children are unguarded in a school with multiple monsters, right?"

"What about it?"

"So if there was someone highly trained in the school to protect them, it would be all right?"

The lord of the dead glares at Alecto. "There was supposed to be."

"With all due respect my lord, wouldn't another child be a better guardian? They could easily get close to your children without looking suspicious. Also isn't Westover Hall a boarding school?" Hades nods. "The protector could board with the di Angelo twins to keep them safe."

"But who would be good enough to protect them?" Hades leans forward curious to Thanatos' suggestion.

"You can leave that to me, My Lord," Thanatos bows.

"Before we send this protector to the school, bring them here. I must test that they are strong enough to defend my children at all costs. If you speak the truth, you will be greatly rewarded. Do not disappoint me," Hades adds.

"Do not worry sir, they will be. I will be back in one hour's time," Thanatos walks off into the shadows.

Hades smiles to himself. _Oh, I hope they will be._

**The Void**

Thanatos steps out of the shadows in the Void, just outside Chaos' office. Knocking on the door, he called out "Chaos? I'm back from the underworld."

"Come in Thanatos," The voice inside the office called. The god of peaceful death pushed open the heavy wooden door and walked inside the office.

Chaos sat at his desk, looking carefully through what looked like reports. His black hair still had the silvery grey streaks, but they were less visible because the man smiled more. His skin was more tan from being outside with the children.

"So, did Hades accept them?" Chaos asked, lacing his fingers together.

"Yes, the selling point was that they would be able to always be with his kids," Thanatos said, a grin slowing growing across his face. "Who were you going to send?"

"Percy, of course. He is their leader and the leader should go first. The other should be a girl so both genders are covered. I have this gut feeling to send Imogene along with them," Chaos replied.

Thanatos raised his eyebrows but said nothing. After eons and eons, Chaos had learned to trust his gut feelings which were usually correct. "I promised them back to Hades in an hour."

"Then I will call them here right away," Chaos summoned his ipad and went to the monitoring camera. He quickly located the last children in the arena. Holding the intercom button, he projected his voice. "Percy and Imogene, please come immediately to my office. You may say good bye to your siblings before you come though," He clicked it off and the two waited patiently for the siblings to come.

They did not have to wait long. Soon Percy and Imogene appeared in the room. "Hello Uncle Thanatos," They greet. "Father, you called?"

"Yes, sit down. You too,Thanatos," Chaos waited till they were settled to continue. "Remember the great prophecy of the greek gods I showed you? Well, the current demigod in line for the prophecy is Bianca di Angelo, a daughter of Hades. She and her twin brother Nico have been in the Lotus Casino for over seventy years, ever since their mother's death by Zeus' bolt. Recently, Hades instructed his fury, Alecto, to move them to a school. He instructed her to search the school for possible monsters and then stay with them. She got careless and did neither."

"Where do we come in?" Percy asked.

"I'm getting to that. I sent Thanatos to convince Hades a child protector would be better and offer two of you guys to fulfill the job. He accepted and in less than an hour, you will be first travelling to the underworld where you will be tested by Hades and then Westover Hall where you will go to school until Hades sees fit for you to bring the children to him. I have a list of what you need to bring, the school has uniforms, and copies for both of you of the di Angelos information," Chaos hands them each a manila folder. "Go and meet Thanatos back here soon. If you need a refresher, there are instructions of the assignment."

Percy opens the folder as he heads to his room. The first page is an instruction sheet like Chaos said. Since he had just heard what he needed to do, he turned the page. Next page was the packing list. It was short as they would be getting school uniforms.

_Packing List_

_\- weapons (knives, sword, axe, etc)_

_\- light weight armor_

_\- hiking backpack with unlimited camping supplies_

_\- bag of drachmas_

_\- bag of denaris_

_\- mortal cash_

_\- 3 changes of clothes in case you go into the mortal world (includes shoes)_

Quickly, Percy grabbed his hiking backpack, checked that his weapons and armor in shrunken forms were in his pockets, and his money was in the backpack too. He pulled out his green duffel bag and stuffed three t- shirts, some jeans, and sneakers into it. Slinging both bags over his shoulder, he left his room.

As he walked over to Imogene's room, he heard his name being called. "Percy!" His mother ran down the hall.

"Are you really leaving?" She asked sadly. Her green eyes looked him over with the care only a mother could possess.

"Yeah, mom, I have to do a mission," He replied. "For a few months," He added.

She murmured something like I knew this day would come before engulfing her son in a hug. He was taller than her, enough for her to lay her head on his shoulder. "Be safe," Thalassa kissed his forehead, standing on his tiptoes.

"I will," He promised. "Love you mom."

"Bye Percy," She called before he walked into Imogene's room. Imogene was neatly folding her clothes with the help of her sister Willow. Her backpack was already on the floor beside her bed.

"Almost ready to go?" He asked her.

"Yup," Imogene replied as she carefully placed her clothes into her duffel. She zipped it up and then checked her pocket for her fan. All of the last girls could summon their weapons, but they had them also stored in an old fashioned chinese fan, with the exception of Nyx's girl's chain which were in small boxes.

Willow walked over to Percy and gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek. "Be careful and watch over Imogene for me."

Imogene glared playfully at her sister. "Whatever," The two girls hugged one last time. Percy shouldered Imogene's hazel duffel, being the nice gentleman brother he was, while Imogene grabbed her backpack. "Get out of my room, Willow," She called teasingly as they left.

They arrived back in Chaos' office to be informed by their father they still had twenty five minutes before they would leave for the underworld. He recommended they finish reading the reports since it would impress Hades that they knew so much already. Percy flopped onto Chaos' lounge chair in the corner of the room while Imogene claimed the couch. He flipped past the instructions and packing list to the reports on the di Angelos.

A picture of a girl with silky black hair was pinned at the top. Percy began reading.

Name: Bianca di Angelo

Date of Birth: 8:16 am August 13, 1924

Place of Birth: Medstar Washington Hospital Center

Age: 13

Gender: Female

Father: Hades

Mother: Maria di Angelo

Places lived: Washington DC, Lotus Casino

Siblings: Nico (13)

Hair color: Black

Eye color: dark brown

Skin color: pale

Ethnicity: Italian

He continues reading through the report before flipping to Nico's which is basically the same as Bianca's except for the gender difference, picture, and a few other things like hobbies.

"Imogene, Percy, come here. I have some final instructions," Their father beckoned them from his desk. The two got up and watched over to the chairs they sat in earlier.

"Before Thanatos takes you to the Underworld, I have some last minute instructions. They are in the folder on the instruction page, but I'm guessing you skipped that page since I told you your mission," They smiled sheepishly at him. "The first is that you are to use your middle names instead of your first names as a precaution. Thesis and Eros are currently at the school, setting things up for you as Jackson and Fern Last."

Percy nodded, understanding the logic. All of the last had middle names that could act as first names or last names. He was Percy Jackson while Imogene was Imogene Fern. They also used Last as their last name.

"Even when you are with Hades, you are to introduce yourselves as Jackson and Fern Last. That brings me to Hades. Hades is one of the most powerful gods, save Hestia of course. You will be respectful to him and do anything he asks immediately. Do not fail in the mission. His children are meant to be the prophecy you are at school with the di Angelos, stay close to them. Eros and Thesis are getting you to board with them so it is easier to watch over them. Do not let them know anything about the Greek gods until it is absolutely necessary. Use the mist if you must. There will mostly be a satyr at the school, trying to get close to them. Do not let him. He will try to take them away to the half blood camp, the exact opposite of where Hades wants them to go. Lastly, when doing physical activities, push them hard so they will be ready for the world of the gods. Thesis and Eros will be acting as your aunt and uncle at the school, helping you get settled and getting your uniforms and supplies," Chaos pauses for a breath. "Any questions?"

The two shake their heads. Chaos smiles at them. "Don't worry, you will do fine. And now, I have two gifts and something to change," He reaches into his desk and two small black packages made of a water repellent cloth. Handing them to them, Percy unfolds his.

The package is actually a raincoat folded into it's back pocket. The majority of the fabric is a black color while the zipper is green. Imogene's is the same except hers is a hazel green where Percy's was sea green.

"They have special properties that you will unlock as you journey. Use them well," Chaos says as he hands them each a similar device. "This is a smaller version of my ipad. Last thing is I'm removing the silver swirls from your eyes for a while. They will make Hades curious and raise too many questions. Also, I'm dimming your aura," He slides his hands over their eyes, leaving them pure hazel green and sea green.

The children say their thank you's before slipping the items into their back packs. Thanatos strides into the room. "You guys ready to go?" He asks. "I think it would make it a good impression on Hades to be early."

Chaos stands up from his desk and wraps both of his children in hugs. "Be safe," He whispers.

"We will," They assure him.

"Contact me anytime you have a question or want to talk," He said, letting go of them.

Thanatos places his hands on the children's shoulders before they disappear into the shadows. Percy only has a moment to feel a little bit excited and nervous for his upcoming mission before they reappear in the throne room of Hades.

The place reminds Percy of a bronze and black version of the Mount Olympus he has seen in pictures. Skulls hang everywhere along with several skeletal guards. Since Thanatos works for Hades in a sense, he does not have to go through the whole palace before arriving in the throne room. Hades lounges on his throne of bones like a lean panther beside an empty throne covered in dark flowers. Percy looks to Thanatos to see him sadly looking at the flowery throne of Persephone. He barely has time to think about the story before Hades jumps to his feet.

He scans the trio carefully. "Thanatos, you have returned."

The son of Nyx and Erebus nods his head. "I have my lord, and I have brought the children with me."

"I thought you said you were only bringing one child," Hades said.

Imogene and Percy exchange fearful looks, but Thanatos remains cool. "It would be even better protection if a boy and a girl watched over your children."

"Now I have to change the arrangements," Hades sighs.

"Some, uh, friends of mine are taking care of the school arrangements and such. They will ensure that the children are settled in."

The Lord of the Underworld exhales in relief. "If they pass the test."

"I am confident they will, my lord. They have been well trained."

"Speaking of which, how do you know these children? From the look of the boy's eyes, he is a son of my lying, cheating bastard of a brother, Poseidon, but I smell no sea on him."

"They are family friends, descendants of powerful gods," Thanatos replies simply. Hades raises his eyebrows. "Sir, test them before you make any judgements."

"Very well," Hades stands up and walks over to them, beginning to circle around them like a cat and it's prey. The children stand tall, posture perfect. "What is your name?" He asks Percy as he stalks by.

"Jackson Last, sir," Percy says.

Hades gives a small smile at the sir. "And you?" As he passes Imogene.

"Fern Last, my lord," She replies.

"Any affiliation with the Olympians?"

"No, sir," They replied together.

"Do you have weapons?"

The children silently draw their weapons out. Percy holds his sword in one hand and his axe in the another, while his knifes are strapped to his waist. Imogene does the same except with her staff in her left hand. Hades inspects the weapons carefully before clapping his hands four times. The sound resounds throughout the palace, echoing on. Out of the shadows walk several hooded figures.

"Meet some of finest heroes of Elysium," Hades says proudly as the heroes lower their hoods. "Achilles, Odysseus, Theseus, Jason, Jason, and Houdini. They will be testing you on many skills to see if you are worthy."

First a man with pale green eyes and long black hair stepped forward. He wore greek armor and sandals with a bloody arrow sticking out of his ankle. "May I know the honor of who I am fighting?" Achilles asked.

"Jackson, Jackson Last," Percy replied after Hades motioned him forward. "I will be fighting with my axe."

Achilles nodded before drawing his spear. "May the best man win," He charged Percy with the speed and grace he had obtained when he was alive.

Hades had been expecting the poor boy to be pierced by his servant's spear rather quickly. So he was completely surprised when Jackson evaded the strike. Achilles narrowed his eyes before pressing the boy harder. Though the hero of the Trojan war was good, Hades could see Jackson was gaining the upper hand. _Good,_ he thought. _Perhaps I judged them a bit too quickly. Maybe they will be strong enough to save my children._

Imogene watched carefully as her brother duelled the master of spears. He was holding back, she could tell. It wouldn't be good for Hades' pride or trust of them for Percy to defeat Achilles in several seconds. She spotted several openings in the Trojan war hero's fighting right away, but Percy took his time following them through. After a half a minute of fighting, she got bored and decided to send Percy a mental message. _Percy, you don't get a reward for fighting Achilles for longer. Just beat him! You've wasted enough time as it is!_

_Well, isn't someone impatient today?_ Percy replied. Imogene could hear him laughing a little in his head.

_Shut up and just beat him already!_ She shot back.

_Fine._ Percy waited for an opportunity to end the fight. He didn't have to wait long. Lifting his axe a little to high on his swing, Percy was practically holding up a sign saying, _Hey look! My rib cage is unguarded._ Achilles dove for the chance. Hades shook his head, fighting back the urge to sigh out loud. The boy didn't even last two minutes.

So quickly only Imogene could follow, Percy changed the direction of his axe, an admirable feat because of the momentum. Whirling the axe into a blur, he swiftly chopped the spear into three neat pieces. Achilles mouth fell open as he was left with two broken sticks and one on the floor. Had he not been so stunned at the fact the boy had disarmed him, Achilles could have regained his composure and taken Percy on in hand to hand combat.

Instead, the legendary son of Thetis and Peleus stood there stunned while Percy placed his knife at his throat. Hades looked stunned that a person- a young boy at that, could recover so quickly to defeat anyone. Imogene and Thanatos smiled. They had both known Percy would win all along. The other heroes from Elysium had wary looks on their faces, curious of the powerful young children.

Astonished was the only thing Hades could think of. Here he had thought Jackson would last less than two minutes, when it was Achilles he should have been worried about. How would the rest of the challenges turn out?

"Jackson has won against Achilles," He stated. Jackson dropped his weapon to his side, he wasn't even breathing hard. "Fern will be fighting against Jason next."

The man with brown hair and brown eyes stepped forward, a bit wary. His tanned skin was outlined by a dark brown beard. He wore leather bronze plated armor and had a stocky build with strong muscles bulging. Approaching Imogene, he still has no weapon drawn.

"Have you heard my story of my voyage with the Argonauts?" He asked. Imogene nodded. "On the journey, we had to use different strengths and senses to survive. Now as your task, I am going to take away your main sense used for fighting. Sight. If you can survive two minutes of me attacking you or manage to disarm me, you win."

He produced a small black bandana, made specially for blinding the subject. Jason tied it tightly at the back of Imogene's head. Stepping back, he drew his broadsword.

"You may use whatever weapon you have," Jason said as he silently began to circle the girl. Imogene didn't even move. She relaxed her muscles, relying on her natural senses of the earth from her mother and the universal skills from her father. Jason was almost directly behind her, a little to the right though.

Instinctively, her muscles brought her sword up, twisting it. Imogene could sense the blade being parried away from a direct blow. Jason was looking at her, intrigued, trying to find a way to defeat her. A plan began to form in his mind. Suddenly, he charged her, bringing his sword in a destructive arc.

The daughter of Gaia and Chaos spun like lightning to intercept the strike. If Hades didn't know any better, he'd say she could see right through the blindfold. But it wasn't possible. Just to check, he passed shadows over her eyes. Nothing.

For every stroke Jason attempted to hit Fern with, she pushed it away. As she began to grow more confident, she threw in a few thrusts of her own. Becoming more daring, Imogene stepped forward, fully engaging Jason. They fought furiously. Even with the handicap of a blindfold, Imogene was beating the retriever of the golden fleece. With the moves of a master, she flicked her wrist ever so slightly. Jason's blade flew out of his hands, impaling into the wall. In a moment, Imogene had him pinned to the floor.

Like Achilles, Jason was too shocked to fight back. Hades looked down at the stopped stopwatch in his hand. It read 1:33. Fern had managed to defeat a great warrior in a little more than a minute and a half, blind folded! He struggled to keep from grinning at her success.

"You may take off your blind fold now," Hades interstructed. Fern obliged and got up. Jason, never one to quit, pulled his hidden knife from the sheath and quietly snuck up on Fern. Without even turning around, she pulled a dagger from her belt and threw it point blank.

The knife snared on Jason's armor straps, pinning him to the stone wall of the throne room. Fern acted like nothing had happened, walking over to hand Hades the bandana. Shaking off the stunned feeling, Hades continued the tests. Percy fought Theseus in a battle of strength and force, winning in record timing. Imogene excelled in fighting in odd situations against Perseus. Houdini concocted a different trap that should have taken hours to break out of at a god level, but it took Percy less than ten minutes. Easily, Imogene defeated Odysseus in strategy and tactics.

At the least, Hades was very impressed with the children's performance. Turning to Thanatos, he spoke.

"They are worthy," He said simply. Thanatos exchanged smiles with Fern and Jackson. "You are dismissed," Hades told the warriors of old. They bowed before walking into the shadows, back to Elysium. Quickly, Hades briefed them on their mission, not wanting his children to be left alone for any longer than they had to be.

"Thanatos will take you there," Hades finished after carefully explaining every detail. They nodded. "Lastly, I need you to swear your loyalty to me so that I can know that you will not try and take my children to the Olympians."

"We swear an oath of Loyalty, upon the river Styx, to Hades and the mission to rescue his children," Percy and Imogene finished. Thunder boomed loudly, since they were so close to the river.

Hades nodded in satisfaction. "I will expect reports through dreams."

They nodded before Thanatos transported them away.

Westover Hall looms in front of them as the trio like a evil castle made off all black. Even though it's early September, the air is chilly in Maine. Cold wind whips off the freezing harbor. Percy shivers once despite his jeans and sweatshirt. Thesis and Eros spot them before hurrying out to meet them. Thanatos strides over to them.

"Everything set up?" Thanatos asks.

"Yes," Thesis replies. "We can handle it from here. It's the official day before the start of term, when everyone new comes in. We won't look out of place."

"I'll scout around the school, look for monsters and find hiding places," Thanatos says before disappearing. Thesis and Eros walk towards the huge black doors. A woman in a freshly pressed suit stands just inside the doors.

"Welcome to Westover Hall," The brunette says brightly. "Are you here for student drop off?"

"Yes," Eros says.

"Walk down the hallway and take the first right. There will be signs on the walls directing you to the Main Office. My name's Ms. Gottschalk, by the way."

"Thank you m'am," Eros says and the children salute.

As they walk down the huge hallway with ceilings at least fifty feet above, Eros whispers to his cousins. "Ms. Gottschalk?

The two smile behind their sleeves. The banners on the walls saying _Westover Hall: Grunt_ and _Welcome students!_ flutter gently in the light breeze rippling through the hall. They follow the directions and soon arrive at the office.

A woman with blonde hair in a neat bun on top of her head sits at a secretary's desk. She doesn't even look up as they approach. "Name?"

"Jackson and Fern Last," Thesis replies. The woman, whose name is Chelsea Kirkman from the gold plated name plate, clicks a few things on the computer, types rapid fire fast with long red fingernails, and impatiently waits for the papers to be printed out. She hands them across the counter.

"There are your schedules and information. Head to the seamstress next. She's the second door on the left," Chelsea adds before looking expectantly at the next group of people in line. As they are leaving the main office, Percy catches a glimpse of a man with grey hair and different colored eyes staring at him. He only has time to read, _Dr. Thorn, Vice Principal,_ before they leave the room.

Next they arrive at the seamstress who takes their exact measurements for their uniform. For the girls, the uniform is a white collared shirt with a navy jacket, three buttons lining the sleeves. A plaid grey and white skirt and grey just below the knee light gray socks are to be worn along dark grey flats. A dark blue tie tops it off.

The boy's uniform is grey pants, a white shirt, and navy blue jacket. The shoes are black dress shoes and the tie is mandatory, like with the girls. All of the clothing has Westover Hall's emblem on it, crossed sword and gun with a big WH in the center.

"You get six uniforms, one for each school day of the week, and then one to wear while your other ones are being washed," The seamstress informs them. "All shirts must be tucked in. You may wear your other clothes when you are relaxing in your rooms, but the moment you step into public congregation, you must have your uniform on. You get one set of physical education uniforms and a backpack to carry your school supplies around in. Formal dress code rules can be found in the rule book, located several places around the school," She turns back to her table, obviously done with them.

"Where do we go now?" Imogene asks as they stand awkwardly in the hallway. Thesis opens her mouth to reply, but she's cut off.

"Hello!" A cheery voice says from behind them. "Do you need any help?"

A girl wearing the uniform they just received walks over. Her red hair looks like someone made fire into hair, but she manages to keep it back neatly. Her brown eyes aren't mimicking the smile on her face.

"I'm Kelli, what do you need help with?" She asks. Percy feels himself being drawn in, then quickly snaps himself out of it. _She's a monster, an empousa._ Eros, Thesis, and Imogene have all come to a similar conclusion.

"No, it's fine," Eros insists. Being the primordial of love makes him immune to silly monster tricks.

Kelli will have none of it. "Nonsense, I'm happy to help. Let me see your schedules. Oooo, you have Linda Sahiner and Marley Voss as your head dormers. Okay, so head down that way, and after like, five hallways you should arrive at their offices. It's the last ones," Kelli says.

"Okay, thanks," Thesis says half heartedly.

"No problem! Bye!"

Each office of head dormers is on the main hallway with their respective hallway branching off. Eros leads them up flights of stairs and down hallways until they reach a dead end, except for the huge windows and library. Inside the office of the head dormer sit two brown haired people, a man and a woman. Both look up as they come in.

"Names?" The woman, Linda Sahiner asks tiredly.

"Jackson and Fern Last," Percy says. Marley Voss opens a file cabinet and searches through the folders while Linda places her head in her hands.

"Long day?" Thesis asks kindly.

"You got no idea," Linda rubs her temples. "It's crazy here for the first week."

"Here," Marley holds out to large envelopes. "These hold your keys to the dorm, don't lose them, a map of the school, and the rule book. I would recommend reading them before tomorrow morning. Your room numbers are the hallway, the side of the hallway and the number. Jackson, you're in room GL15 with Nico di Angelo while Fern is in the room across from you, GR16, with Bianca di Angelo."

"Remember, lights out is at 9:45," Linda reminds them. "Official meals don't start till tomorrow, but you can get some food there tonight. The dining hall closes at 7:30."

They thank the two head dormers before heading down the hall to their rooms. Outside their rooms, which are at the end of the hallway, Thanatos meets them. He hands them each a rolled up paper before disappearing. Thesis and Eros hug them good bye before walking out like normal people.

Imogene looks at Percy one last time before pushing the dorm door open and stepping inside.

**Bianca's POV**

As far as Bianca was concerned, her day was far from good. She and her brother Nico had been taken out of the comfy hotel they had been staying in for the last three months by a lawyer. The lawyer had brought them to the school, paid for everything, got them to their rooms, then left.

Official registration was a few months ago, meaning dorm rooms had already been picked. Nico and Bianca had gotten rooms to themselves. Even though they were siblings, school rules said opposite genders couldn't share a room. That was stupid!

So it was easy to say Bianca was surprised when a knock could be heard on the door. She had already unpacked her bags, chosen one of the beds in the room, and hung up her uniforms. Was it Nico?

"Come in," She called.

A girl with pitch black hair much like her own opened the door. The girl had a backpack on her back and was carrying a duffel bag. Her hazel green eyes locked on Bianca's onyx ones. Strangely, Bianca felt comforted.

"Bianca di Angelo, right?" She asked.

"That's me," Bianca stood up.

"Hey, I'm Fern Last. I guess we'll be rooming together for the semester," Fern shook Bianca's hand.

Bianca smiled. "Good, I was afraid I was going to have to sit with my twin brother Nico the whole time. He's my brother, but sometimes he drives me nuts."

Fern smiled. "I know what you mean. My brother, Jackson, who's rooming with Nico, I love him to death, but, god, he's so annoying sometimes."

The two girls smiled, knowing they would become good friends. "Do you mind taking this bed?" Bianca asked, gesturing to the bed opposite hers. "I didn't know anyone else was coming."

"It's fine, I love to look out the window, anyways," Fern's fingers traced the bottom of the large window above her bed. Bianca helped the other girl hang up her uniforms in her half of the closet and her other clothes in the drawers. As they worked, they talked about lots of things. Bianca found Fern loved to be outside in nature and was turning thirteen that March. She herself talked about her love of dark colors and how she had celebrated her birthday less than a month ago. They packed their backpacks for the next day with the books they were instructed they would need. Fern looked around the room, poking her head in the bathroom and glancing at a few of the books on the bookshelf. Both girls changed into the 'approved comfy wear', a westover hall sweatshirt and pants found in the closet.

"I was going to head over to my brother's room to check on how he is doing and get some dinner. Want to come?" Fern asked.

"Sure," Bianca followed the other girl across the hallway.

Inside their brother's room, a guy with black hair and sea green eyes was laughing at her brother's joke. Their room was identical to the girls, just mirrored. Both boys had also changed into the sweatshirt and pants. Nico sat up from his laying position on his bed, his dark brown eyes laughing.

"Hey sis, this is Jackson," Nico introduced his roommate.

"And this is his sister, Fern, my roommate," Bianca chuckles as his mouth opens.

"You didn't tell me you had a sister," Nico said.

"You never asked," Jackson shot back, shrugging.

"Anyways," Fern cleared her throat. "We were planning to head down to get some dinner, it's almost five forty-five now. Do you guys want to come?"

"Yup," Jackson stood up, Nico following him. "Does anyone know how to get to the dining hall?"

"Nope," Nico said. "Let's go!"

The four of them headed down the steps to the main floor. After several dead ends and near wall punching experiences, they finally reached the cafeteria.

"I'm going to get so lost in here tomorrow," Bianca said as she placed her tray on the table before dropping her backpack to the floor.

"Speaking of tomorrow, do we have any classes together?" Jackson asked. They all opened their backpacks (they had brought them with them so they didn't forget their keys or cards to buy the food) to dig out their schedules.

"I don't know," Nico said as he took a big bite out of his chicken nugget.

"Nico! Chew with your mouth closed!" Bianca reprimanded with Jackson and Fern laughed.

"Sorry, B," He replied.

Bianca rolled her eyes before handing her schedule to Fern. "What do I even have tomorrow?" She looked over Fern's shoulder.

_Name: Bianca di Angelo Age: 13 Head Dormer: Linda Sahiner Home Room: Litty_

_Schedule_

_6:00 - 6:55: Morning roll call and morning workout_

_7:00 - 7:35: Breakfast_

_7:45 - 8:30: First Period (Algebra, Litty)_

_8:35 - 9:20: Second Period (Science, Smith)_

_9:25 - 10:10: Third Period (English, Hartright)_

_10:15- 11:00: Fourth Period (Study Hall, Nelson)_

_11:05 - 11:50: Fifth Period (History, Walker)_

_11:50 - 12:10: Return to rooms and drop off/ pick up books_

_12:15 - 12:50: Lunch (dining hall)_

_12:55 - 13:40: Sixth Period (Greek and Latin, Sherman)_

_13:45 - 15:00: Afternoon workouts_

_15:10 - 17:20: Study time and Activities (rooms and library)_

_17:30 - 18:05: Dinner_

_18:15- 18:45: Evening announcements_

_18:55- 21:30: Study time and Prepare for bed_

_21:30: Lights out_

"Do you and Nico have the same schedule?" Fern asked after glancing over Bianca's, Jackson's and hers.

"Yes?" Bianca looked to a nodding Nico for confirmation.

"Then we have all of our classes together," Jackson stated.

The di Angelo twins smiled. "We'd better start heading back upstairs. With Bianca and my luck, we'll get lost again," Nico suggested. They left their trays on the cart and began the long way back to their rooms.

While Fern takes a shower, Bianca begins to read the rule book. She reads things she had already learned, lights out time, uniform protocol, dormitory condition, and new things like the morning drills and being on time for classes. Once Fern is done in the bathroom, the two switch. Bianca never knew why, but she never liked being in water. That included the shower.

Shrugging it off, the girls talk until Linda walks down the hall, checking that everyone is turning their lights off, since it's nine forty five.

"You two should try and get some sleep, morning exercises come early," Linda says before continuing on. Before falling asleep, Fern turns off the lights. Bianca lays in the dark thinking.

_Tomorrow we begin school_, Is her last thought before she falls asleep.

**How was it? I hoped you like it. I never saw someone go deeply into Westover Hall before, so I wanted to try it. Tell me what you think.**

**Remember to review!**

**Thanks!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	8. Rescue the Rescuers

**I know it's been a long time. I've been busy with school which just ended. Now it's summer, so I'll be busy swimming, but expect some more frequent updates.**

**I'm going to try only responding to the reviews that need answered.**

**AncientTide- it wasn't meant to be a filler, but a start of something bigger.**

**Llew44- I didn't exactly switch them. I divided up Percy's roles. You'll see. Doesn't know about who? Who is this her? If you're talking about the daughter of Poseidon, both Poseidon and Hades know about her.**

**I am that writer- I think you have said that before. This won't be Bianca/ Percy romance. I try not to repeat pairings in my stories. I have always pictured Bianca and Percy having a cousinly relationship like Thalia and Percy. It is convenient that they have all the classes and rooms together. The rooms is easy explaining though. Nico and Bianca were placed in the school late, so they didn't get roommates. Imogene and Percy came in even later so they just put them together. Also, Thesis and Eros arranged everything, including the schedules, using a little bit of the mist.**

**aliissa- You make it sound like you don't like Imogene. Anyways, I brought her because it was Chaos' gut instinct.**

**Guest- how is it like Harry Potter? The chess?**

**Guest- You'll have to read to find out.**

**Here's Bianca's schedule for clarification.**

_**Name: Bianca di Angelo Age: 13 Head Dormer: Linda Sahiner Home Room: Litty**_

_**Schedule**_

_**6:00 - 6:40: Morning roll call and morning workout**_

_**7:00 - 7:35: Breakfast**_

_**7:45 - 8:30: First Period (Algebra, Litty)**_

_**8:35 - 9:20: Second Period (Science, Smith)**_

_**9:25 - 10:10: Third Period (English, Hartright)**_

_**10:15- 11:00: Fourth Period (Study Hall, Nelson)**_

_**11:05 - 11:50: Fifth Period (History, Walker)**_

_**11:50 - 12:10: Return to rooms and drop off/ pick up books**_

_**12:15 - 12:50: Lunch (dining hall)**_

_**12:55 - 13:40: Sixth Period (Greek and Latin, Sherman)**_

_**13:45 - 15:00: Afternoon workouts**_

_**15:10 - 17:20: Study time and Activities (rooms and library)**_

_**17:30 - 18:05: Dinner**_

_**18:15- 18:45: Evening announcements**_

_**18:55- 21:30: Study time and Prepare for bed**_

_**21:30: Lights out **_

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners. I do take the end part of the rescue scene from Rick Riordan, but it's changed up.**

**Percy's POV (Or Jackson's)**

Getting whacked in the face with a pillow was not Percy's preferred way of waking up. It felt like just seconds ago he had drifted off to sleep before the pillow slammed him straight on. His honed reflexes jolted his body awake. Rolling out of his bed, Percy was reaching for his concealed weapon in his pocket before his were even open.

Imogene stood in the doorway, already dressed in the gym uniform they wore to morning workouts before returning to their rooms to change. Her hand was notably pillowless. Nico was fast asleep on his bed, so his sister had obviously thrown the pillow.

"What was that for?" He complained.

"You didn't wake up on time, so I had to wake you up. If you didn't like getting hit with a pillow, wake up yourself next time," Imogene smiled mischievously at him.

Percy groaned before looking at the clock which read five forty am. "Thanks, sis."

"No problem," She said too cheerfully for this early hour, skipping out of the room. Closing the door, Percy was left alone with a still slumbering Nico. Even after changing into his respective clothes, Nico had not awaken.

"Nico," He shook the other boy's shoulder hard. "Wake up."

The onyx eyed boy groaned in his sleep before covering his head with a pillow. "I can't believe I'm doing this," Percy muttered to himself. Summoning a bucket of water, he turned the temperature to just above freezing.

The water fell on the unsuspecting son of Hades. Nico leapt up from his bed like he had been shocked. Once he got over his initial shock, he turned to glare at Percy.

"What was that for?" Nico mimicked Percy's reaction from earlier.

"We have morning muster in fifteen minutes."

Nico's eyes widened and he hurried to get ready. Soon the four of them were heading down to the main hall where they were instructed to head. Since it was their first day, a bunch of people got up and talked about how excited they were to meet the new students, not, and how much fun they were going to have, not. The principal said a few opening words, before the vice principal took the microphone.

"Hello, I am Dr. Thorn and I will be ze vice principal for ze year. I will enjoy getting to know all of you," It may just have been Percy's imagination, but Dr. Thorn's eyes seemed to linger on Bianca and Nico. A flash appears before Percy's eyes, showing him a large creature with a whirling tail. _A manticore. _Imogene met his eyes, coming to the same conclusion. _He suspects something, but knows nothing yet._

The gym instructors took the stage and explained a few things about morning and afternoon musters.

"It is ABSOLUTELY necessary that you are on time to ALL musters! Failure to do so will result in five hundred pushups in the snow!" A stocky man, Coach Rugs, yelled as he paced in front of them.

One kid, who looked like your stereotypical 'cool' kid, raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. ?" The gym teacher barked.

"Clyde."

"It's Clyde, SIR!"

"Clyde, Sir."

"Yes, continue," The man pulled out his military sword and leaned on it.

"What if there is no snow?"

The gym teacher narrowed his eyes. "What did you say to me?"

"I asked, what if there is no snow outside, how can we do push ups in the snow?"

"For Mr. Clyde's rudeness, you will all drop and give me 100 PUSH UPS RIGHT NOW!"

The kids groaned as they clambered off the bleachers to the gym floor. The four were close to the edge of the bleachers, Percy learned to always have an easy escape, so they soon began their push ups.

"If anyone else complains or defies my order again, it will be four hundred more push ups!"

Silently, the students complete the exercise over and over again. The only sound is the panting of the kids and the gym teacher barking occasional tips. "Head in line, Jones!" Back straight, McCarthy!"

From all of his training, Percy finishes rather quickly, but does extra as to not stand out. He can already sense Dr. Thorn's suspicion. Luckily for the students, morning muster ends before they can finish their push ups. Reluctantly, Coach Rugs lets them go, promising they will make up the missed push ups tomorrow. A teacher reminds them that breakfast is not a meal where you have to be there immediately, but the dining hall closes at 7:35.

After heading up the many flights of stairs to their rooms, Percy jumps in the shower, letting the water rejuvenate him even though he's not that tired. Changing into his freshly pressed uniform, he checks his bag while Nico showers. His many textbooks for his first five classes are stowed in the school loaned backpack along with his ipad and other supplies.

Someone knocks on the door. "Come in!" Percy calls. Imogene opens the door and looks around the room. When she doesn't see anyone else, she closes the door behind her, before sitting next to Percy on his bed.

"Nico's in the shower, right?" Imogene asks in a low voice.

"Yeah," Percy summoned water to make humidity in the air so Nico couldn't hear them while his sister made the room soundproof, using her Chaos powers. They could hear someone on the outside, but no one on the outside could listen to their conversation.

"There are two monsters in the school."

"The girl yesterday, Kelli, and Dr. Thorn, yes."

"Any sign of a satyr yet?" Percy asked.

"No, there is an odd smell meaning one is here, but I have yet to see him," Imogene cursed lightly under her breath. "Stupid satyrs and camp not so safe blood. If they kept their noses out of our mission, we would be fine!"

"Don't worry, Satyrs are overly gullible. We can trick him."

"I've been studying the paper Thanatos gave us. It's really a map of the school with all the secret hiding places. There's almost one in every hallway. It looks blank to anyone else who reads it. But will that be enough to keep them safe?"

"We have to. If we fail, our siblings won't get to come to earth because of our failure," Percy tensed. "Nico's getting out of the shower," He said as he heard the water turn off. They disbanded their magic and Imogene slipped out of the room.

Nico stepped out of the bathroom door. "Ready to head down to breakfast?"

"Yes, I'm starving," Nico replied.

Fern waiting for them outside of the girls dorm room. "I wanted to tell you to go ahead. Bianca's taking a little longer getting ready. I'll wait with her."

Percy was about to nod his consent, but Nico cut him off. "Don't feel like you have to. B always takes her time getting ready. When we were on our vacation, I showered, got dressed, and ate breakfast before she even turned the water off. Before that- I can't remember. That's odd."

The two children of Chaos exchanged fearful glances. Nico was walking dangerously close to his past, which Hades had showed them. They had to change the conversation, soon.

"It's fine. I'm sure you guys are hungry," Fern assures him.

"Come on, Nico, we can catch up with them later," Percy adds. The pair head down the dining hall where breakfast is being served. They join the line of students, grabbing navy blue or grey trays, Westover Hall's colors. The workers were dishing out plates of breakfast foods before sliding them across the counter. Percy grabbed a plate of pancakes while Nico got waffles. Continuing down the line to grab some milk bottles, the boys find a table towards the side of the cafeteria where Fern and Bianca will easily be able to see them.

Soon the sisters join them with breakfast. They eat mostly without talking, pondering what their day will be like. Percy wonders if there are more monsters in the school where Imogene concerns over the prospect of an annoying satyr. Nico and Bianca think about whether or not they will be any good in school. For some reason, neither can remember their past education.

Jackson looks up at the clock on the wall reading 7:31. Seeing as they are all finished eating, he asks. "Do you guys want to head out early?"

The di Angelo twins nod in consent and they drop their trays off in the shoot that will bring the dirty dishes to the kitchen. As they leave the cafeteria, a bell rings, signaling the end of breakfast. Chairs begin to scrape as students clean up from their meal. The quartet heads quickly up the stairs, trying to reach their classrooms before the wave of students overwhelms them.

After almost getting lost several times, Nico claimed, 'it was just down the next corridor', which happened to be a dead end, they found their classroom. A balding man stood outside the door, handing them note cards.

"Punctual," He said as Bianca made her way into the classroom.

"Punctual, instructions are on the front board," He handed Fern and Jackson notecards.

"Punctual," He handed Nico a card before turning to greet the next students.

The front board read in a neat scrawl,

_Welcome to Algebra!_

_Sit down anywhere for now, you will be moved to your seats once class has begun._

"Come on, let's sit down together before all the seats are taken," Percy leads them over to seats close to the window in the middle of the column for strategical reasons. Middle seats are less suspicious because of the position. Seats in the front can be watched from anyone behind you, which is everyone. The back is for the stereotypical bad kids. If the teacher walks in and sees two of the same kid, one lounging in the back, the other sit up in the front, they will most likely favor the one in the front. Sitting in the middle shows that you have a general interest in the class. With the window behind them, they have an easy escape out of the three story high room. The door is easy to see from their position.

Unfortunately, the teacher walks into the classroom to start the class and move them to their seats.

"Hello, class, I am Mr. Litty and I will be your algebra teacher for the year," Percy, not really listening, does the necessary monster checks to determine if he is a monster or not. Nope, definitely a mortal. As Mr. Litty continues to talk about the material they will cover throughout the semester and the year, Percy scans the rest of the room. Since Voidar schooling is much more advanced than earth's, he passed algebra a few years ago. All mortals, but one has a weak clear sighted vision, a boy with light hair and glasses. That might be a problem if a monster-

The door of the classroom opens and in walks a familiar girl. Mr. Litty turns his attention to her.

"Do you need something, miss?" Mr. Litty asks politely.

"Oh no, I was just getting lost trying to find my math class," Kelli twirls her red hair and bats her eyelashes over her warm brown eyes. All the guys, aside from the clear sighted dude and the teacher, look dreamily at her. Somehow Kelli manages to make the school uniform, that was precisely measured to above knee cap, shorter without getting caught.

"May I see your schedule?" Kelli hands him her schedule.

"Well, Miss Valenza, you have made it to correct class. I was just covering the material for this year. Now we will get you to your assigned seats."

In the classroom's layout, there were five rows, with six desks in each row. There was a walkway in between the two groups of three desks. In the farther back, a few large tables for projects were neatly placed around the room. Walking down the columns, Mr. Litty read out the names and pointed to seats. He read front to back, doing the right set of desks first, closer to the door.

"Lin Riese."

"Bianca di Angelo."

"Kelli Valenza."

Percy gave Bianca a pitying look as she moved to her seat at the front of the room. Kelli flicked her hair before sitting down on Bianca's left. A boy with dark brown hair made his way over to his newly assigned seat.

In the end, Percy was seated by the window with two other kids, Wendy Van Gemeren and Shane Coolidge. Imogene was in the back row with Nico and another guy, Hagan Hempfield. The three of them, excluding Bianca, were on the window side, as far away from Bianca as they could possibly be. The daughter of Hades was too close to the monster. Kelli's long red fingernails could easily turn into claws and slit Bianca's throat.

Mr. Litty put a few easy problems up on the board for them to begin with. Swiftly, Percy solved them while the majority of the class struggled. Behind him, Percy could hear Nico groan quietly.

"Fern," He murmured.

Percy could picture his sister looking up from her finished work. He turned around to watch, acting like he was stretching.

"Yes Nico?"

"I'm, uh, really confused," Nico's pale cheeks blushed a little.

"Which one?"

"All of them," He said, now thoroughly embarrassed. "Is that a b or a d?"

"It's a P," Fern nonchalantly brushed the back of her hand against the paper. To most, it would look like she was wiping away the little eraser pieces. But Percy knew better. What was originally english letters were now Greek. Fern helped him begin the first problem, but with the easier to read letters, Nico completed the rest on his own.

Bianca wasn't doing very well either. Kelli was no help, blabbing about how she loved the mall and shopping. Lin, the boy on Bianca's other side, was madly pushing keys on his calculator.

For the rest of class, they checked the problems, passed out math textbooks, went over more procedures for doing things in class, and were assigned homework. A bell rang loudly through the grounds, signalling the end of clas. Students jumped to their feet while Mr. Litty reminded them that they had problems one-three to one-thirteen due tomorrow.

Outside of the classroom, Bianca was waiting for them, her hands gripping her backpack straps. Kelli was walking in the other direction, laughing and swinging her hair.

"If I have to hear Kelli say one more time how much she loves the mall," Bianca said when they joined and headed to science class.

"That bad, huh?" Fern asked.

"Distastefully horrible. She taps those long red nails against the desk every second. I swear they are claws."

Jackson nodded. Chaos' team of brilliant engineers had designed simulators to show them how it feels to have learning disorders like ADHD, dyslexia, and autism. Percy remembers not being able to stand any annoying noises like pencil tapping. Since the di Angelos were such powerful demigods, their ADHD would be much greater than a normal demigods.

The next two classes flew by in blurs of introductions and rules. In science, Mrs. Smith showed them the different units they would be covering, biology and study a few diverse habitats. Mrs. Smith also asked them to read the first chapter in their science textbook, titled Our World, before tomorrow's class. Miss Hartwright, their english teacher, showed them the books they would be required to read, discuss, and write essays about. Their homework was to read to page thirty in White Fang written by Jack London, a famous son of Mercury, and fill out the beginning thoughts worksheet.

No other monsters had shown themselves. Kelli shouldn't be much of a problem, but empousa are very manipulative and deceptive. She could trick the staff into believing that she was the innocent, though a little mist could cover that up. Dr. Thorn might only be a problem if Percy and Imogene had to protect the di Angelo twins while fighting him. Percy was sure Dr. Thorn's spike launcher could aim almost a hundred percent accurately if the stories he had read were true. Hades wouldn't be too happy if his kids got impaled. The smell of satyr and goat was still on the air. That almost worried the children of Chaos more than the monsters. At least they knew where the monsters were right know. A satyr from a camp that Zeus controlled through Dionysus was almost as fatal as the monsters trying to kill them.

Study hall created a bit of a problem. Mr. Nelson was a young man, a health teacher. Westover Hall only required you to take a few electives. For half the year, one semester, Mr. Nelson would be their study hall teacher. The other half he would be the same class' health teacher. Arts, musics, and computer classes were available, but Nico and Bianca had chosen not to take them. Physical education was covered in the morning muster and afternoon workout. According to the school, Greek and Latin counted as a language as much as spanish, french, or german did.

Mr. Nelson himself was nice enough. He let them sit at whatever tables they wanted, but promised to designate assigned seats to only those who goofed off. Talking was allowed at a below normal talking sound.

The moment they had sat down at a corner table, Percy sensed something was wrong. The smell of wet fur was stronger here. Keeping his head bent down like he was looking at his book, he lifted his eyes to watch the doorway.

Sure enough, a boy walks into the room. Well rather, he limps. His pants are the same uniform everyone else is wearing, but they look like some stuffed them. Curly brown hair pokes out from under the orange rasta cap Percy's sure he had to use the mist to allow him to wear it. A wispy goatee frames his chin while hairy arms hang at his side.

The continuous sniffing the boy is doing is almost like he's holding up a sign, _Hey, I'm a random mixed breed between a goat and a human! Also, I'm looking for half bloods and monsters! Are you one? _If the limp, the smell, and the hat weren't dead give aways, any mythical being could easily tell he's a satyr by the sniffing.

S.S., stupid satyr, as Percy decides to call him, locks his eyes on the di Angelos. Immediately his eyes light up. _Hey, I've just found a halfblood! Look monsters, your next meal. _SS walks over to their table, which is four desks in a row facing another four desks. They have already claimed the seats on the side looking towards the door.

"Hi, can I sit here?" SS asks, trembling in fear.

_No you weak satyr! Go sleep in a barn! _Percy wants to say, but that would attract attention so he turns his page in White Fang. "Sure, take a seat."

Sighing in relief, Grover plunks down into the sea across from Percy. "Thanks," He breathed, his brown eyes scanning the four of them. "My name's Grover Underwood."

_I prefer SS much better, but... _Percy muses.

"Bianca di Angelo," She looked up before continuing in her math homework.

"Fern Last," Her sister went back to helping Bianca with her math.

"Nico di Angelo," He drew sweeping lines on the side of his english paper.

"Jackson Last."

SS, Grover, chuckled. "You guys are like quadruplets then?"

They all simultaneously gave him blank looks like, _Seriously? _Grover's chuckling died down and he buried his face in his book, Of Mice and Men, in embarrassment.

Imogene turned and locked eyes with Percy. _Satyr, _She said through their mental connection.

_No duh! He walked in and was like, I'M A SATYR! MONSTERS COME EAT ME!_

She laughed in their heads. _Too true brother. What do we do?_

_Get him out of our way._

_Embarrassment?_

_Oh yeah, _Percy finished before turning back to White Fang. He read to page forty before completing the beginning thoughts guide.

Beside him, Nico was struggling to read the first few pages. "Hey Nico," Jackson whispered. "Can I see your math book for a second?"

Nodding, Nico didn't take his eyes off the swimming words. Quickly Percy leaned placing his hand on all of Nico's books, turning them in a jumble mess of Greek and Italian. Nico and Bianca were fluent in both, so mixing the two together subconsciously would make it easier for their ADHD minds to focus. He touched the edge of Nico's book, doing the same.

_Imogene, if Bianca's struggling, turn all of her textbooks into a mix of Greek and Italian. The mist should cover it and make it easier for them, _He said through their mental connection. Getting, a nod back from Imogene's end, Percy began his math homework.

History was interesting. Sergeant Walker, as he liked to be called, was an intimidating man but an excellent teacher so far. They would be studying World wars, American wars, civil wars, and wars with pirates. Percy could sense an underlying theme was WARS.

When the bell rang, they retreated back to their rooms before heading to lunch. Following that was Greek and Latin class. Bianca and Nico were surprised to find that they were rather good at the subject, contrary to their previous belief.

Afternoon workouts contained thirty minutes of sit up, push ups, jumping jacks, and other exercises, before a four mile uphill run. The students head back into the school as the sun begins its descent.

Back in their room, Nico flops on his bed. "Uh, now I have to read the greek myth about the titans and primordials for Sherman's class."

Percy digs through his duffel bag that he had originally shoved under his bed. "Is that all you have to do for homework?"

"Yeah, I finished our math, english, and science in Study Hall. And we don't have any homework in History."

"Then let's go swimming."

"What?!" Nico sat bolt upright. "Are you nuts?"

Percy held up his green swimsuit he had found. "There's a pool on the third floor. I asked Marley Voss and he said that we could swim in it. We get over two hours of free time after dinner and announcements. You can easily read the myth then."

"Fine," Nico relented.

**Time Skip to December 15 (the day Percy went to Westover in the books)**

The last few months at Westover Hall had become into a relaxing routine. Getting up for morning workouts and eating breakfast with Bianca, Fern, and Nico was normal. Math, Science, English, study hall with annoying SS also known as Grover, and History came next. The rest of the day flew by with lunch, Greek and Latin, and afternoon workouts. Every day during the first study time, Jackson and his friends would go swimming in the pool. They would bring their notes if they had big tests they next day to study while they relaxed in the pool.

Dr. Thorn and Kelli were clearly suspecting Bianca and Nico of being demigods. They were also suspicious of Jackson and Fern. Grover was tailing them to the point where Imogene had gotten so annoyed with him, she locked the one hallway door, so he had to take another corridor. He wasn't even late for the enchilada lunch.

Today was the last day of the term before everyone went home for Christmas break. A thick layer of snow covered the ground and the air was chilly in main entrance hall. A student planned dance was being held in celebration of the holidays. The gym was decorated with streamers and balloons. Guys shot hoops in the corner or tried to kick the helium filled balloons in each others faces. Girls walked around in little huddles, wearing ridiculous outfits since they were allowed to be out of uniform, and pounds of makeup caked on their faces.

Percy leaned back against the bleachers where he sat with his three friends. He wore simple sweat pants and a sweatshirt with sneakers. Though he looked relaxed, all of his senses were working overtime. Kelli and Dr. Thorn would make their move today if they were ever going to make one. His hand rested over his pocket with his weapons concealed.

Bianca was dressed in black jeans, sneakers, and a fleece jacket. Her hair was french braided back by Imogene. Nico wore black jeans and sneakers, but a dark blue jacket. None of them had worn fancy clothes to the dance; they didn't really care.

Next to Percy, Imogene shuffled her feet. She was wearing a sweatshirt and boots with blue jeans. He could feel her anxiety. Once this day was over they would both be relieved.

"Would you like this dance?" He offered his hand to his sister. She smiled and took it. They walked to the dance floor where the girl huddles were moving in packs. Taking their positions, the children of Chaos began the dance they were taught when they were younger. As they spun around, Percy could see Nico offering Bianca a siblings dance. The door to the gym opened and Percy spotted an orange hat leaving the gym, Grover.

After a song, Nico and Bianca danced over to them. When the girls were twirling, Nico caught Percy's eye and they switched partners. For a while Percy danced with Bianca.

"I haven't seen you wearing your green hat in a while," Percy says as they dance.

Bianca's eyebrows furrow. "I know. I had it the other week but now it's gone."

"Think someone stole it?"

"I don't know, maybe."

The doors to the gym opened again, emitting four people into the warm gym. One was Grover, he expected that. The other three were girls, all three having strong halfblood auras. Dr. Thorn slipped into the gym from a side entrance. Percy cursed under his breath.

"Percy, are you okay?" Bianca asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just need to talk to Fern," He replied. "It was an honor dancing with you."

Bianca smiled before they walked over to Fern and Nico. Fern too had spotted the demigods, he could see it in her eyes. Heading back over to the bleachers, they took a vantage point so they could see both Dr. Thorn and the demigods.

"You watch for threats, I'll watch the new comers," Percy muttered. His sister nodded. To her right, Bianca and Nico laughed as they played a game with cards.

The oldest of the half bloods, the fourteen year old, tugged off her ski cap, letting curly blonde hair fall down. Her stormy grey eyes met her companions' as they talked in hushed tones. Suddenly, the girl with auburn hair stepped forward towards where Percy sat on the bleachers, but Grover and a girl with black hair pulled her back. Blonde girl talked for a little longer before the black haired girl dragged a tripping Grover onto the dance floor.

Percy carefully evaluated each of the demigods to try and determine who their godly parent is. That will make it a lot easier to trick them and get the di Angelos safely through today. The blonde haired girl is obviously a daughter of Athena. The way she took over the situation just proves it.

The girl dancing with Grover has choppy black hair around her shoulders and startling blue eyes. Her eyeliner literally makes her eyes pop. A black leather jacket, ripped black jeans, and combat boots give her a darker look, but she's a daughter of Zeus, easy.

With the daughter of Athena, the auburn haired girl sits on a bench. Determining her godly parent is a bit harder. The auburn hair would only match Artemis on Olympus, but green is the color of her eyes instead of silver. Narrowing down the choices, Percy's left with Hermes, Poseidon, and Demeter.

Before he has a chance to figure it out, Kelli steps out her huddle with some mortal girls. She walks nonchalantly to the refreshment table. Half way there, Dr. Thorn intercepts her. He talks for a moment with his hands before pointing at her short skirt. Kelli sighs before following him through the side exit. A few feet from the door, she drops something out of her purse before stamping on it several times. As the door closes behind her, Percy sees it is Bianca's green hat, dirtied.

The daughter of Zeus and mystery auburn girl, Mag he decides to call her, tug on Grover's sleeve and point to the cap.

"Bianca, Nico get down," Percy pushed them down gently under the bleacher they are sitting on.

Grover's eyes widen as he sees the di Angelo twins missing from the bleachers and the cap too. He's obviously seen the cap on Bianca before. Without even glancing at the bleachers, he trots over to it and sniffs it. He nods his head yes in a confirmation. Mag fingers her necklace while the daughter of Zeus twists her bracelet. Without even considering the strategist of the group, the daughter of Athena, whose talking to a teacher at the edge of the gym, they sprint off down the hallway.

Soon, the daughter of Athena looks up to realize her companions are no longer in the gym. She glances over to the bleachers with missing Bianca and Nico. Noticing the exit doors open, she hurries after the direction her friends just went. Jackson turns towards Fern.

"Those three are powerful half bloods. We should follow them. If the titan king is really rising, we need all the strong demigods we can get."

Fern nodded. "Should they come with us?" She inclined her head towards the di Angelos.

"They have to. We don't know what other monsters are lurking. They will be safe with us."

"Nico, Bianca, this is going to be really strange, but I need you guys to trust us," Fern said.

"Some crazy stuff with happen: we need you to stick close to us and stay hidden. Come on," Jackson got off the bleachers and walked towards the door, Fern following.

"Wait, won't the teachers notice us leaving?" Bianca asked as she stood up.

"No, but we must hurry."

They strode across the gym into the hallway. Opening a closet door, Percy summoned ski coats for the four of them from the magical bags Thanatos had hidden around the school, but made it look like he grabbed them from the closet. Handing them to everyone, they continued down the dimly lit hall, staying in the shadows.

A spike impaled in the wall made the group stop. Fern reached over and touched the spike, feeling the earth in the bricks to tell her what had happened.

"No one was killed, just a little hurt," She said before they continued down the corridor, being led by the faint scuff marks. The exit to the outside was open, the doors swinging in the chilly wind. Bianca and Nico looked thankful for their parkas.

Jackson hurried outside, watching for any sign of predators. A path led through the forest to the cliff overlooking the sea. They had often ran the trail as part of their workouts. Nico started towards the path, but Fern pulled him towards the deep forest after Percy. They walked in between the thick trees, staying beside the path, but hidden.

A rustle was heard on the path and Fern froze. She carefully peaked through the trees, looking for signs of danger. No one was there. Concentrating, Percy used the moisture in the air to show whatever was hiding.

"The blonde girl," Fern said. The daughter of Athena was using an invisibility cap to hide herself from the monsters. Voices could be heard be heard ahead of us as we caught up to the monster and demigod group.

"What are you doing,Grace?" Hissed a voice that was surely Dr. Thorn's. "Keep moving!"

"It's my shoulder," The girl with black hair, the daughter of Zeus said. "It burns."

"Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"

Thorn herded them through the woods, Kelli posing as back century. She had a long piece of a celestial bronze mirror, jagged around the edges and clearly her knife. The four of them trailed them down a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights. The wind blowing through the forest was unusually cold. The demigods, who had taken their warm clothes off inside the gym, must be freezing.

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."

"What ride?" Mag demanded. "Where are you taking us?"

"Silence, you insufferable girl!" Kelli snapped, pressing her mirror shard to the auburn's neck.

"Don't talk to my friend that way," Grover said. His voice quivered. Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human.

Another branch snapped behind them loudly. _Couldn't the daughter of Athena walk quietly through the woods? _Kelli lunged backward to where a stick lay broken on the ground. Pressing her jagged dagger to an invisible person, she ripped off a yankees cap. The daughter of Athena, stood there, white faced.

"Ah, what's this? Another demigod? Good job Kelli," Thorn drawled.

The woods had opened up. They had reached the cliff overlooking the sea. Percy felt strengthened by the presence of the sea, as his mother and stepfather were of the sea. He could hear the waves churning and smell the cold salty froth. But all they could see was mist and darkness.

Dr. Thorn pushed the three demigods and the satyr towards the edge. The daughter of Athena stumbled, and Grover caught her.

"Thanks," She murmured.

"What is he?" Mag whispered. "How do we fight him?"

"I… I'm working on it," The daughter of Athena replied.

Grover fiddled nervously with some reed pipes. _Of all the types of satyrs he had to be, we got stuck with the one who brings music, not a weapon to defend himself. _

"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"

They turned.

Thorn pulled something from under his coat. It was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said, "The package- no we didn't get the oldest two," I had a feeling he was talking about Bianca and Nico. "But we got two daughters of the big three, an Athena kid, and a satyr."

There was a garbled reply, and the phone responded back, walkie talkie style. Mag glanced behind her at the sea.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "By all means, daughter of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself."

"Nico, Bianca," Percy murmured. "We need to go rescue those people. I want you guys to stay hidden, but just in case they find you," I summoned my sword out of my pocket and handed it to Nico. Chaotic steele worked best for children of Chaos, but it would work for anyone. The oceanic steele would throw the son of Hades off a bit, but he should still be able to fight with it. Fern handed her knifes to Bianca. Their eyes widen, but they stay quiet.

"I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said to Mag, who was a daughter of Poseidon. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"

A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to her that it nicked her hair. From our position, Jackson could see Thorn's tail swishing.

"Unfortunately," Kelli said, "You are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."

"Luke wants us," Athena's daughter said bitterly. "You work for Luke.

Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when the name was said. "You have no idea what is happening, Annabeth Chase," He told the blonde girl. "I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you, Thalia Grace."

"Don't call me that," Zeus' daughter, Thalia Grace snarled.

"Well, if you are uncooperative, we can always use the daughter of Poseidon to do the deed," Kelli stroked the auburn's hair with her long red nails.

Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."

They turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then Percy heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Poseidon's daughter said.

"You should be honored, my girl. You will have the opportunity to join a great army!"

"You can take your great army and—" Thalia spat.

"Oh, a feisty one," Kelli purred.

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us. And if you do not, well… there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" Annabeth asked.

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"We're going out there now. Stay hidden," Percy instructed the di Angelos. Drawing his axe, he got ready to charge. "Now!" He whispered.

He and Fern zipped silently towards the monsters, with a quietness that only someone who has been training for a long time could master. Thorn and Kelli had their backs to them, watching the helicopter and blabbing about the great stir pot and whatever. Imogene sent a blast of wind, a power from her father, Ouranos, to knock the demigods to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over their heads. This gave the demigods a chance to draw their weapons, even though the children of Chaos didn't need their help.

Fern engaged Kelli, as girls aren't fooled by empousa's magic and beauty. Jackson charged Thorn, his axe whirling over his head. Thalia rubbed the silver bracelet on her wrist, a large shield appearing. Her shield was modeled after one her dad Zeus uses— called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze. Percy is thankful for the shield, it will protect the demigods from the flying spikes while he defeats the manticore. The daughter of Poseidon tapped her watch and pulled the water droplet pendant on her neck. A glimmering blue blade, a long dagger, and a shield with weird engravings, people riding hippocampi, an odd glimmering thing in a pine tree, and countless other pictures appear. Annabeth drew her knife while Grover put his reed pipes to his lips.

Moving quickly, Percy spun his axe at Thorn. The vice principal had transformed into his real self, a manticore. Growling, he slashed at Percy with his longs claws. Retaliating, Jackson swiped his axe down at manticore's back. Thorn yowled, as a long scratch appeared on his back.

Thalia tried darting in with her spear and shield. Percy wanted to yell at her to get out of the way, but Thalia's diversion gave him a few seconds to scan the cliff. Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds.

The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind them. His sister had just plunged her sword through Kelli's neck when monsters began jumping off the helicopter to surround her. Fern slashed through the first hellhound and drew her staff. With the amount of monsters bombarding her, she needed two weapons to fight, even if it was more suspicious to be fighting with two weapons. She didn't dare draw her scythe. It looked far to much like her half brother, Kronos' weapon.

Percy longed to go help his sister, but the demigods weren't going to hold out much longer against Thorn. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet. The daughter of Poseidon and Annabeth tried jabbing at his hind legs but he fired a flurry of missiles, forcing them to hide behind Poseidon's daughter's shield. Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.

"Get down!" Annabeth called to Grover. A second wave of spikes impacted against the auburn's shield. The girl looked heart broken as she saw her beautiful shield damaged. It surely wouldn't stop a third volley.

Imogene rolled as a cyclopes swung at her head. She did a back handspring, kicking another monster in the chest before stabbing a third with her staff. They disintegrated, but more kept coming. Imogene was fighting well, but there were simply too many.

The manticore would be easy work if Percy didn't have to protect the half bloods. He cursed again before engaging Dr Thorn, who had just swatted Grover next to Thalia.

Then a clear piercing sound cut through the mist: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one, except Imogene who was fighting for her life, moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder. He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, which they did. The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest were about fourteen. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

Percy fought back a curse. _Stupid hunters, complicating everything!_

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess, obviously the lieutenant. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

Fern fell to her knees as a dracaena knocked her in the knees from behind. She managed to stab her in the stomach, before falling back on the ground. Over thirty piles of golden dust lay on the ground and covering her. All of the monsters, minus Thorn, were gone.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon, Artemis. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at Fern, knowing she was exhausted from defeating so many monsters. Percy tried to reach her, but he was simply too far away to reach her.

"NO!" Nico yelled as he ran out of the woods, brandishing Percy's sword, Bianca right behind him. Nico sprinted hard, getting ahead of Bianca, whose foot caught on a root,

"Get back, boy!" The girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Nico tackled the monster, driving his sword into the manticore's mane. The manticore howled, Nico hanging on like a bull rider.

"Fire!" Zoe ordered.

"No!" Bianca, Imogene, and Percy screamed.

The Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster leapt over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness. Percy could only watch in horror, while Imogene's face paled.

"NICO!" Bianca screamed, slumping in defeat.

**How was it? I hoped you liked it.**

**IMPORTANT: This is NOT Percy x Bianca. I just think in my mind that Percy and Bianca, had she lived in the original series, would have had a cousinly relationship like Percy and Thalia do.**

**Remember to review!**

**Thanks!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	9. Hunters, Camp, and Prophecies

**Happy summer solstice and council day of the gods!**

**Here's the next chapter. I'm pretty exhausted from my 5k (I placed third in my age group!) so expect some errors.**

**Review Responses**

**Torrent14- Interesting idea for the pairing, but I already had a pairing planned.**

**Sophia. - I actually finished school before I posted last chapter, but I was trying to explain why it was late.**

**Lord of Death and Time- Actually Nico fell, but...**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners.**

_**Previously,**_

_**And before anyone could react, the monster leapt over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness. Percy could only watch in horror, while Imogene's face paled.**_

"_**NICO!" Bianca screamed, slumping in defeat.**_

Bianca got to her feet, running towards the cliff edge, tears silently streaming down her face. Percy's eyes widened. He would already be in trouble because he let Nico get hurt, but Bianca too? He would be Cerberus food. Plus, the twins were almost like his siblings. It hurt him almost as much as Bianca to see Nico fall.

A few of the hunters ran forward, attempting to stop Bianca from hurling herself off the cliff after her brother. With strength he didn't know she possessed, Bianca shoved the hunters back. Running to the cliff's edge, she scanned the misty ocean for any sign of her younger twin brother. The grey water churned below, but Thorn and Nico were gone. Sinking to her knees, Bianca began to sob.

Percy exchanged glances with Imogene and they walked towards the shaking form of Bianca di Angelo. Fern shot the hunters who moved towards Bianca dirty looks. In surprise, the girls in silver moved back while the siblings knelt beside their friend. Jackson put his hand on Bianca's shoulder while Fern wrapped an arm around her. He picked up his fallen sword that Nico used from the ground.

Their enemies weren't done with attacking. There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire. Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the trio just sat in the snow, mourning over the fate of their friend. Artemis just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," She announced, "Are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.

"Bianca?" Fern murmured.

"I'll be okay," Bianca said, trying hard not to sniffle. Jackson stood up and offered the girls his hands. They took them before walking over to where the others were.

The Hunters advanced on the campers, but stayed notably farther away from the trio. They were probably wary of them.

The lieutenant, the one with the silver circlet,stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," She said with distaste.

"Zoe Nightshade," Thalia's voice trembled with anger. _One of the hesperides, _Jackson remembered. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoe scanned the rest of us. "Six half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers and some new half bloods, I see."

Bianca looked hollowly at Artemis. "What of Nico?"

The auburn-haired girl turned toward her. "I'm sorry, Bianca, but your brother is beyond help."

Imogene kept her arm wrapped around Bianca as the girl nodded.

"Guys," The mystery auburn girl, the daughter of Poseidon said. "I don't mean to make it sound like we are in kindergarten, but can we please go around and say our names?"

"You are correct, daughter of Poseidon," Artemis agrees, her eyes as bright and as cold as the winter moon. "I am Artemis, the goddess of the hunt."

Bianca didn't even look fazed. Jackson knew that she was just too shocked to say anything yet. For the children of Chaos, it was obviously immediately who the goddess was. They had studied Greek and Roman immortals their whole lives!

That was nothing compared to Grover, the idiotic satyr. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so… you're so… Wow!"

"Get up, goat boy! We have other things to worry about!" Thalia sighs and grabs his ear, yanking him up. "Thalia, daughter of Zeus. The satyr is Grover."

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena," The blonde says.

"Jillian Donaldson, daughter of Poseidon," The auburn girl, not Artemis, says.

"Jackson Last."

"Fern Last."

It's Bianca's turn to say her name next, but she just stands there, frozen.

"My name is," She faltered and turned to Jackson and Fern. "What's going on? Who are you?" Her voice sounded on the edge of tears.

"You are a half-blood," Zoe Nightshade said. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"Our friend is in a little shock from losing her brother," Jackson explained. "Would you mind if we explained to her in private about her parents?"

Mistake. All eyes turned towards the two siblings. "How do you know about the gods, boy?"

Artemis asked.

_Percy, remember you are to say your father was the god and your mother taught you, _Chaos' voice echoed in his head.

"Our father was the god. Our mother taught us about the myths," He responded.

"And the weapons?" Annabeth questioned. "One doesn't simply get a weapon at a store and learn how to perfect it."

"Our father gave them to us," Fern cut in.

Zoe opened her mouth to retort, but Thalia cut her off. "Zoe, come on. Bianca's just lost her brother, her closest family member. Give her a break and let these two explain stuff to her."

The lieutenant of the hunt's expression changed from angry to sad in a second. She went back to being angry so quickly Jackson was almost sure he had imagined it. Something about family made her sad.

"Atlanta, Jaquelyn, Sarah, head into the school and retrieve our guests belongings," Artemis commands. "Zoe, Phoebe, set up camp."

"I'll go with you to show you where our stuff is," Grover offers.

Artemis sighs. "All right, go with them, satyr."

Fern and Jackson lead Bianca away from the hunters setting up camp to a log in the woods. They are far enough away to prevent spying people from hearing, but close enough to see the bright silver tents being pitched.

"Bianca, this is going to sound crazy, but I promise if you trust us and let us explain, we'll do our best to make it easier for you," Jackson looks Bianca in the eyes.

"Your father isn't dead. He's an immortal god," Fern says simply. "Your mother was a mortal, making you and Nico demigods or half bloods."

"So Dr. Thorn and Kelli really were monsters?"

"Yes a manticore and an empousa," Fern added.

"That make sense," Bianca replied.

"That's it? No freaking out or anything?" Jackson asked astonished.

"No, I trust you guys. Nico fell off the cliff with a monster. I can't save him if I refuse to believe in the world he is stuck in," Bianca said sensibly. The three of them walked back to camp where they heard loud voices arguing.

"They need to come to camp!"

"That is not the safest option!"

"There is no other option!"

Jackson walked through a break in the silver tents and the circling wolves to find Thalia and Zoe standing a few feet apart, yelling at each other. Sparks were pulsing off Thalia, and Zoe was gripping her bow tightly. Once Bianca and Fern stepped beside Percy, the two immediately stopped fighting, but both were casting murderous glares at the other.

"Hey Bianca," Thalia said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a lot to take in," Bianca replied, less shakier than before.

"Yeah, I know what it feels like. We came here to help you, though. You need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" She asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," Jillian explains from her place by the fire. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."

"Yeah, what she said," Thalia agrees.

"There is another option," Zoe said.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia said. Thalia and Zoe glared at each other again. For some reason, they seriously hated each other.

"Thalia and Annabeth, I presume your answers are the same?" Artemis asked as she exits her tent. Thalia nodded stiffly. "After the wounded are treated, I would like to speak with Jillian, Fern, and Bianca. Zoe, we must talk. Walk with me."

Artemis and Zoe walk off towards the cliff. Jackson sits by a steaming mad Thalia around the fire. Annabeth kneels on the other side, bandaging Thalia's wounded shoulder from when Thorn's spike pierced.

"Why do you hate Zoe so much?" Fern asked.

Thalia sighed before looking at Annabeth. "I guess I should start from the beginning," Annabeth nodded. "All right, when I was eight, I ran away from my home in Big Cloud, California. I jumped a few trains, worked odd jobs for different people and managed to make it to Lincoln, Nebraska. My dad was guiding me, but there, Nike, who was one of my father's servants, guided me to a train that brought me to an area close to the James river. There I was saved by Annabeth and Luke, a son of Hermes, from a bunch of cyclopes and hellhounds."

"Before I met Thalia or Luke, I was living in Virginia. When I was ten, I got the message that my dad and his new family didn't want me around. I left. Luke, who was fourteen at the time, and I wandered around, making safe houses before we rescued Thalia," Annabeth continued. "The three of us were injured a few weeks later and heading towards Luke's old house. There the hunters found us. Artemis wasn't with them at the time, but Zoe, the lieutenant, offered Thalia and I places in the hunt."

"Zoe then had the nerve to say that Luke would fail us! We were family! He would never do that!" Thalia added, disgust in her voice. Jackson bit back the _but didn't he betray you? _

Annabeth seemed to read his mind. "Luke isn't evil. The titans have just brainwashed him. He's still good. After that incident and our visit to Luke's house, a satyr, Grover, found us. He tried leading us to camp, but we got lost and a horde of monsters caught up with us," Thalia promptly got up and walked away. "Thalia's still a bit emotional about what happened," Annabeth explained before continuing. "We tried so hard to get to camp, but they caught up. We fought hard too. Thalia was amazing, killing so many monsters at such a young age. But a fury snuck up on her and stabbed her. Before she could die though, Zeus turned her into a tree to save her life."

Jackson looked out where Thalia's silhouette stood. "How is she here now?"

Jillian looked up from where she was cleaning her long dagger. "When I was ten, my mom, Sally, got me to camp. At the time, Zeus' master bolt had been stolen, so naturally he blamed his brother's kid. Annabeth, Grover, and I went on a quest to bring it back along with saving Hades' helm of darkness. We found that Luke had stolen the bolt and betrayed us. The next summer, I traveled to camp with a friend of mine, Tyson. At the time, I didn't know he was a cyclopes. Thalia's pine tree had been poisoned, overwhelming the camp with monsters. Clarisse, a daughter of Ares, was chosen to lead another quest into the sea of monsters to save the fleece. When she left alone, Tyson, who was actually my half brother, Leo, a son of Hephaestus, Annabeth, and I snuck out of camp to help her. After retrieving the fleece and saving Grover, we returned to camp. The fleece however didn't just strengthen the camp borders, it brought Thalia back to life. She had been aging normally in the tree, so we were both the same age, twelve."

Artemis and Zoe returned to camp with Zoe looking really pissed, her arms crossed and her volcanic black eyes angry. She huffed when she saw us and stomped away from the fire to one of the tents. Artemis sighed.

"She did not take it nearly as well as I expected," Artemis looked weary. "Bianca, Jillian, and Fern, please come with me to my tent."

Fern grabbed her brother's arm. "Can my brother come too?" After the events of the day, Fern was exhausted and wanted Jackson to be there with her.

The cold silver eyes of Artemis looked over at Percy. "Fine, but if he causes any trouble..."

"With all respect, Lady Artemis, my sister and I are very close. I would not violate her trust," Jackson said politely. The goddess of the moon nodded and the four walked into her tent.

The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and many others. A live deer with glittering fur and silver horns lay next to Artemis, its head resting contentedly in Artemis's lap.

"Sit down," The goddess said.

They sat across from her on the tent floor, Percy next to Bianca and Imogene. Artemis studied the girls.

"Are you surprised by my age?" She asked Jillian who was looking awed at the young goddess.

"Uh… a little."

"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?" Bianca asked.

"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."

"Oh."

Zoe sat down at Artemis's right. She glared at Jackson, like he was the reason all of this happen.

"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said to Jackson. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoe. "Which one was it?"

"That boy in Colorado," Zoe said. "You turned him into a jackalope."

"Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes. Anyways, I need you guys to tell me more about what happened with the manticore and the empusae."

And so they told her, Jillian talking about the things he said in the woods, with Fern interjecting occasionally. Bianca was silent, staring sadly at the fire.

When they was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I feared this was the answer."

Zoe sat forward. "The scent, my lady?"

"Yes."

"What scent?" Jillian asked.

"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."

She stared at Jillian intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."

"Um, 'I hate middle school dances.'"

"No, no. After that."

"He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to Thalia and me."

Zoe's face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand.

"Go on, " The goddess said.

"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stirring. And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus,'" Jillian finished. Jackson's eyes widened. That didn't mean...

_Are you thinking what I'm thinking? _Fern asked him.

_The ophiotaurus. _He replied.

_Oh my gods, this is really it. It's happening, _Fern said before they dropped their mental conversation.

The goddess was so still she could've been a statue. "I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."

Zoe looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave right away, my lady."

"No, Zoe. I have not changed my mind about my decision. We already talked about this. I am going alone."

"But, milady—"

"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."

"As… as you wish, my lady."

"I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in. Zoe, I am not changing my mind. I need you to lead the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. You can stay there in safety until I return."

"What?" Zoe blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—"

"Yes, I know," Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."

Zoe muttered something about foolish campers.

"And now there is one last decisions to make," Artemis turned to the three girls in front of her. "You are all invited to join the hunt."

Fern looked indifferent, Jillian showed an expression of astonishment, while Bianca still looked blankly at the fire.

"But," The daughter of Poseidon began. "We wouldn't get to stay at camp Halfblood and be trained by Chiron. What would we get with the hunters?"

"To begin with," Zoe said, "Immortality."

"My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal… unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath," Artemis elaborated.

"What oath?" Jillian said.

"To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

"Like you?" Fern offered. Artemis nodded. "I decline."

"What?" Zoe was flabbergasted. "You give up a chance to serve the goddess and become immortal?"

"Yes," Fern said firmly. "The hunt is cold to males. It would draw me away from my family and my brothers. I can't live without them."

Bianca's onyx eyes left the fire to look Artemis in the silver eyes. "Then I must too refuse. It would distance me from my brother. I still have a life to live."

Eyes turn to Jillian. She looks nervous with all the pressure. "Umm," She paused. "I will also not accept. My loyalty is to the camp."

"Almost never has a girl turned down a position in the hunt. Now three have just done so," Artemis murmured. "Dawn is approaching. Zoe, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."

Zoe didn't look real happy about this idea, but she followed us out into the cold winter night. A pile of duffle bags sat by the fire where Thalia and Annabeth had been sitting earlier. Among them, Jackson quickly found his, Bianca's, Fern's, and Nico's. A small red heart with a green leaf was pinned onto Fern's bag. The back read.

_All your stuff is inside. _

_\- T. and E._

Thesis and Eros must be tracking their progress. Jackson hefted the bags and carried them to where his friends were standing. Wrapping his arm around his sister, Fern leaned into him as they waited for dawn.

"You didn't want to join the hunt?" Jackson asked her teasingly.

"Nah, someone needs to keep you and the other brothers in line," They smiled as they looked to the horizon. Percy's internal senses were telling him that dawn would only be a few more minutes.

Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover joined us near the cliff's edge, Grover grinning goofily with a black eye, most likely from the hunters. "What did Artemis want?" Thalia spat her name.

"She offered us places in the hunt," Jillian said.

"You didn't accept, did you?" Thalia threatened, electricity beginning to spark.

"Relax, Thals. My loyalty is to camp. Speaking of camp, the hunters are coming to camp."

Grover turned pale. "The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well."

"How'd they even show up here?" Annabeth wondered. "I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere."

"I'm glad nobody joined them," Thalia said, disgusted. "It would be all Zoe's fault. That stuck-up, no good—"

"Who can blame her?" Grover said. "Eternity with Artemis?" He heaved a big sigh.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You satyrs. You're all in love with Artemis. Don't you get that she'll never love you back?"

"But she's so… into nature," Grover swooned.

"You're nuts," said Thalia.

"Nuts and berries," Grover said dreamily. "Yeah."

Finally the sky began to lighten. Artemis muttered, "About time. He's soooo lazy during the winter."

There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon, a blast of warmth. "Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."

They averted their eyes, and saw that the other kids were doing the same. The light and warmth intensified. Then suddenly the light died.

A red convertible Maserati Spyder, it was so awesome it glowed. It was glowing because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained the green grass.

The driver got out, smiling. He looked about seventeen or eighteen. Apollo had sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. His smile was bright and playful. Apollo wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt.

"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."

"Definitely," Jillian added.

"He's the sun god," Grover said.

"That's not what we meant," They said together, sounding like twins.

"Little sister!" Apollo called. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister."

"Hey, I was born first."

"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue—"

"So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"

Artemis grit her teeth. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a stop everything gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The Hunters all groaned. Apparently they'd met Apollo before. He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.

"Green grass breaks through snow.

Artemis pleads for my help.

I am so cool."

He grinned at us, waiting for applause. Jackson rolls his eyes. They learned about poetry when they were little in the Void. Tartarus' haikus, which consisted of tortures from his pit, lines about sunglasses, and ending with lines about how his nieces and nephews were great, were better than Apollo's crappy ones.

"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.

Apollo frowned. "Was it?"

"Yes. What about I am so big-headed?"

"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm," He started muttering to himself and counting on his fingers.

Zoe Nightshade turned to them. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan. 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, There once was a goddess from Sparta—"

"I've got it!" Apollo announced. "I am so awesome. That's five syllables!" He bowed, looking very pleased with himself. "And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, pointing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers."

"No problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Let's see… Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo."

"Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time—"

"Brother," Artemis said. "You should get going."

"Oh, right," Then he looked at Jillian, and his eyes narrowed. "Jillian Donaldson?"

"Yeah. I mean… yes, sir," Jillian looked a tad annoyed that Thalia had gotten much more attention than her from such 'a hot god'.

"Well!" He said. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way—west. And if you miss it, you miss it."

"Cool car," Grover said.

"Thanks, satyr," Apollo said.

"But how will we all fit?"

"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"

He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. Chirp, chirp. For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle buses like we used for school basketball games.

"Right," he said. "Everybody in."

Zoe ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Here, sweetheart. Let me get that."

Zoe recoiled. Her eyes flashed murderously.

"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart."

Apollo spread his hands. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"

"Hunting," Artemis said. "It's none of your business."

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."

Artemis snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!"

"No, no! I never mess around."

Artemis rolled her eyes, then looked at us. "I will see you by winter solstice. Zoe, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."

Zoe straightened. "Yes, my lady."

Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."

She sprinted toward the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.

Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"

The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away as possible from Apollo and the 'disgusting campers'.

"Who's driving?" Apollo asked.

"Oo! Oo!" Grover raised his hand.

"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too furry," He looked past Jillian and focused on Thalia.

"Daughter of Zeus!" He said. "Lord of the sky. Perfect."

"Oh, no," Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks."

"C'mon," Apollo tapped his finger to his lips. "You're twelve, perfect age to be learning how to use the wheels.

Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh—"

"I know what you're going to say," Apollo said. "You don't deserve an honor like driving the sun chariot."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus's daughter. He's not going to blast you out of the sky."

Apollo laughed good-naturedly. The rest didn't join him while Jillian looked annoyed.

Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was absolutely not going to take "no" for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield, WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER.

"Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural! Speed equals heat. So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."

Thalia gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"What's wrong?" Fern asked her as the siblings plus Bianca took seat on the passenger side. Jackson, looking at Thalia's scared face, quickly made straps from the rope in his backpack as a precaution.

"Nothing," she said shakily. "N-nothing is wrong."

She pulled back on the wheel. It tilted, and the bus lurched upward so fast something heavy fell against Jackson. He pushed a moaning Grover off him. A smoking ring of trees from the clearing where the bus had lifted off.

"Slower!" Apollo said.

"Sorry!" Thalia said. "I've got it under control!"

"Thalia," Annabeth said. "Lighten up on the accelerator."

"I've got it, Annabeth," She said, gritting her teeth. But she kept it floored.

"Loosen up," Jillian told her.

"I'm loose!" Thalia said. She was so stiff she looked like she was made out of plywood.

"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo said. "Hang a left."

Thalia jerked the wheel and again threw Grover onto Jackson, again.

"The other left," Apollo suggested.

"Ah…" Apollo said, forcing himself to sound calm. "A little lower, sweetheart. Cape Cod is freezing over."

Thalia tilted the wheel. Her face was chalk white, her forehead beaded with sweat. The bus pitched down and somebody screamed. Now the bus were heading straight toward the Atlantic Ocean at a thousand miles an hour. And it was getting hot in the bus.

Apollo had been thrown somewhere in the back of the bus, but he started climbing up the rows of seats.

"Take the wheel!" Grover begged him.

"No worries," Apollo said. He looked plenty worried. "She just has to learn to—WHOA!"

Down below was a little snow-covered New England town. At least, it used to be snow-covered. The snow melted off the trees and the roofs and the lawns. The white steeple on a church turned brown and started to smolder. Little plumes of smoke, like birthday candles, were popping up all over the town. Trees and rooftops were catching fire.

"Pull up!" Grover yelled.

There was a wild light in Thalia's eyes. She yanked back on the wheel. As they zoomed up, the fires in the town were being snuffed out by the sudden blast of cold.

"There!" Apollo pointed. "Long Island, dead ahead. Let's slow down, dear. 'Dead' is only an expression."

Thalia was thundering toward the coastline of northern Long Island. There was Camp Half-Blood: the valley, the woods, the beach.

"I'm under control," Thalia muttered. "I'm under control."

A few hundred yards away now.

"Brake," Apollo said.

"I can do this."

"BRAKE!"

Thalia slammed her foot on the brake, and the sun bus pitched forward at a forty-five-degree angle, slamming into the Camp Half-Blood canoe lake with a huge FLOOOOOOSH! Steam billowed up, sending several frightened naiads scrambling out of the water with half-woven wicker baskets. The bus bobbed to the surface, along with a couple of capsized, half-melted canoes.

"Well," said Apollo with a brave smile. "You were right, my dear. You had everything under control! Let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?"

Camp Half Blood looked like the old tales of Santa's north pole the last children used to read as jokes. Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big blue House.

"Whoa," Bianca said as she climbed off the bus. Seeing such a new place seemed to have momentarily pulled her out of her shocked phase. "Is that a climbing wall?"

"Yeah," Jillian said.

"Why is there lava pouring down it?"

"Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you guys to Chiron. Zoe, have you met—"

"I know Chiron," Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."

"I'll show you the way," Grover offered.

"We know the way."

"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't" He tripped over a canoe and came up still talking. "Like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"

Zoe rolled her eyes, she figured there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. "Watch out for those prophecies, Thalia. I'll see you soon."

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!"

He gave her a wicked smile, as if he knew something she didn't. Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight.

"Who's Chiron?" Bianca asked.

"The hunters don't like him," Thalia supplied cheerfully. Annabeth gave Thalia a pointed look.

A muscular African American boy was stoking the forge outside the camp armory with a smaller latino boy. Two boys were picking the lock on the camp store. A few kids who looked like they were from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest.

The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Two men sit at a table, playing a quiet game of hearts. One man has a chubby face, a red nose and curly hair so black, it looks purple. He has watery, blue, bloodshot eyes, like he drinks a lot. His bold tiger-striped Hawaiian shirts, neon orange running tights and purple running shoes clash horribly with his pudgy belly and cherub face. A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards. The other man sits in a wheelchair, his hand stroking his shaggy brown bear. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely.

The wheelchair guy, who Jackson recognizes as the Chiron, smiled when he saw us. "Annabeth! Thalia! Jillian! And?"

Annabeth smiled at him. "Bianca di Angelo, Jackson Last, and Fern Last."

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."

"Well…" Jillian began.

His smile melted. "What's wrong?"

"We were rescuing the half bloods when the manticore pulled Bianca's brother over the cliff," Annabeth said sadly. Fern and Jackson exchanged looks. The campers rescued _them_?

"Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice, "Not another one lost."

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?"

Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red lines on his face that looked like a slap mark. "The Hunters are all moved in!"

Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about. Grover, perhaps you should take our new friends to the den and show them our orientation film."

"But… Oh, right. Yes, sir."

The orientation film was so boring. It showed them the camp. Already done, three D tour with Chaos. It told them about the greek gods and monsters. Check. Jackson almost fell asleep.

"You're… you're a centaur?" Bianca asked when they returned to the room. The children of Chaos were happy to see that she was no longer blankly staring off into the distance, but her movements were still a little robotic from grief.

Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Miss di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters."

"Dionysus?" Bianca asked.

The god puffed himself up, happy to be recognized. Chiron looked relieved. There was tension in the air, like Thalia or Jillian had been getting angry.

"Jillian," Chiron said quickly, "You and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."

"Capture the flag?" Thalia asked. "But we don't have enough—"

"It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."

"Yeah," Jillian muttered. "I bet it's real friendly."

Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D. "Run along now," Chiron told them. "Annabeth, could you show Miss di Angelo and the Lasts to the Hermes cabin?"

"Oh, right," Annabeth replied as Jillian and Thalia left. "Come on guys."

Outside of the Big House, they paused before looking over the camp. Over at the basketball court, a few of the Hunters were shooting hoops. One of them was arguing with a guy from the Ares cabin. Thalia and Jillian stood just off, looking like they had just been arguing too.

Annabeth sighed. "Those two are almost unbeatable when they worked together, but getting them to do so is the hard part," She walked over to the girls, Jackson, Fern, and Bianca trailing behind her.

"Hey Annabeth," Thalia said as the blonde approached.

"Hey guys," She replied.

"Annabeth, we were just talking about who should be team captain for capture the flag," Jillian added.

"Who all is here and eligible?" Annabeth questioned.

"I am, Jillian is too, Katie Gardner, Clarisse isn't, she's on some mission, you are, Lee Fletcher isn't a year rounder, but Michael Yew has been head for long enough. Beckendorf and Silena are both here, plus the Stolls. That's it," Thalia summed up.

"Can anyone be a team captain?" Fern asked.

Jillian's green eyes narrowed. "I guess, but it's always a tradition that cabin counselors were the captains. You guys aren't even claimed yet."

"I'll be team captain if that's all right with you two," Annabeth says. They nod. "Can you guys go around and tell everybody? Remind them that all cabin counselors will come to the Athena cabin tomorrow afternoon for a meeting to plan our strategy."

The two walk off towards the cabins, but fighting breaks out on the basketball court. After a furious game of rock paper scissors, Thalia trudged off toward the court, where the Ares camper and the Hunter were trying to kill each other with a sword and a basketball.

The cabins were an odd collection of buildings, Jackson had to admit. By themselves, they would have looked fine, but putting an old fashioned temple with a small factory? Or a house make of plants with a bloody building with explosions going off? Not good. Cabins one and two, as Annabeth pointed out, were for Zeus and Hera. Zeus' cabin is marble building looking like a mausoleum, with heavy columns. The big bronze double doors are polished in such a way to provide a 'holographic' effect of lightning bolts passing across. As they pass by, Jackson can hear it thundering. Bianca flinches.

"Thalia's cabin," Annabeth says.

Hera's cabin is marble, formal-looking building, graceful with slim columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. It is done in a similar way to her husband, Zeus' cabin. However Hera's cabin is more graceful, having slimmer columns with pomegranates and flowers around them. The walls also have images of peacocks carved on them, as well as the doors.

Next to Zeus' cabin is a long, low building with windows facing the ocean. The cabin is made from rough sea stone, pieces of coral and seashell embedded into the outside walls, and a trident with a big bronze number 3 over the door. Jackson inhales deeply as a sea breeze flows by them.

"Poseidon. Jillian's cabin," Annabeth stated as they passed by.

Cabins four and five are interesting. Demeter's looks like an organic dream with flowers, tomatoes, fruits, and flowers growing neatly while the roof is made out of real grass. The plants are enchanted, Annabeth explains, to not die in the cold or heat. Ares' cabin is light brown and bloody red with barbed wire on the roof.

Annabeth stops proudly in front of Athena's cabin. The walls were a simple grey with an owl over the doorway. Cabins seven and eight glow like the sun and moon for Apollo and Artemis. They steer as far away as possible from the hunters in cabin eight.

Cabin nine, the factory cabin, sits next to what looks like a come to life doll house. All of the curtains match the house perfectly. Finally, they reach cabin eleven, Hermes.

As they stand on the worn wooden porch, Annabeth explains the acceptance policy of Hermes. "Normally, you can only live in the cabin of your godly parent, but Hermes is the exception. He welcomes all travelers, even minor gods children or the unclaimed. In the summer, it's super crowded. But now..." She trailed off.

Jackson and Fern peeked inside. A few kids sit on the floor, beds, or chairs. From the numerous bunkbeds, Jackson can tell that a lot of kids stay here other times. It's the largest group of kids they have seen since they got to camp, asides from the hunters, but no more than ten sit around now.

"Travis? Connor?" Annabeth called into the dark cabin.

"Did someone call my name?" A pale face with elfish features and a sarcastic grin pops over the bunk bed nearest to them.

"Hey Connor, where is Travis?" Annabeth asked.

The boy, Connor shrugged. "Probably off trying to suck faces with Katie Gardner."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and sighed. "He never learns, does he?" Connor shook his head, before Annabeth introduced the siblings and Bianca. Connor shows them some empty bunk beds before leaving to go pull a prank on someone named Drew, whoever that is.

As the sun began to set, a conch horn blew, signalling it was time for dinner. Jackson lined up with the other Hermes campers and headed to the mess hall. The torches and braziers kept the outdoor pavilion warm, tables covered in table cloths of the god's color, silver for Artemis, sky blue for Zeus. Annabeth was heading to her table when Jillian caught her arm. Jackson leaned in to listen from his spot at the Hermes table.

"Listen, I was talking to Tyson through an iris message and he told me some pretty serious stuff. Oceanus is rising and Aigaios is continuously attacking dad's palace," Jillian paused, debating what she was going to say next. "He also said the Princess Andromeda was heading down to Panama."

Annabeth's grey eyes widen. She was obviously calculating something and didn't like the answer she had gotten. "But why would he do that? Unless..."

Jackson thought to his geography he had learned. Panama was famous for the canal that provided an easy connection of the two oceans, Pacific and Atlantic. If he remembered Jillian's story correctly, Luke had been recruiting half bloods and monsters on the east coast. If he was going to Panama, he wanted to get to the west coast.

"Ladies," Chiron said, giving them a pointed look. Jillian took a seat at the Poseidon table alone while Annabeth hurried to sit with her siblings. Thalia slid to the end of the Zeus table so that she could talk to Jillian who was at the table next to her.

The barbecue, pizza, and soda were delicious, but Jackson couldn't keep his mind off the upcoming war, the threat of the bad boat, Nico's fall, and the bad feeling that kept poking him. Fern didn't seem to feel like eating either. She prodded her food around with her fork, preoccupied with her thoughts. Bianca was the same way. He could tell by the look in her eyes, she was thinking about how much Nico would have loved this place.

The only table that really seemed to be having a good time was the Artemis table. The Hunters drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family. Zoe sat at the head like she was the mama. She didn't laugh as much as the others, but she did smile from time to time. Her silver lieutenant's band glittered in the dark braids of her hair. She looked a lot nicer when she smiled. Atlanta and the girl who picked a fight with the Ares kid on the basketball court were arm wrestling.

When they had finished eating, Chiron made the customary toast to the gods and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty half hearted. Then he announced the "good will" capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, which got a lot better reception.

Afterward, everyone trailed back to the cabins for an early, winter lights out. Jackson was tired from being up for a day and a half but he'd been in worse. Soon he fell asleep to nightmares.

Nico struggled up a dark hill shrouded in fog. Old broken Greek columns of black marble were scattered around, as though something had blasted a huge building to ruins.

"Thorn!" Nico cried. "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" He scrambled over a section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill and gasped.

There was Bianca. And she was in pain. That didn't make any sense. Bianca was at camp.

She was crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seemed to be thicker around her, fog swirling hungrily. Her clothes were in tatters and her face was scratched and drenched with sweat.

"Nico!" She called. "Help me! Please!"

Jackson wanted to cry out: _It's trap Nico! Stop! _But his voice wasn't working. Nico ran forward.

Then the darkness above Bianca began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling. Nico rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. He held it somehow—tons of rock. He kept it from collapsing on him and Bianca just with his own strength. It was impossible. He shouldn't have been able to do that.

Bianca rolled free, gasping. Her face began to change until an empusae appeared, one that had taken on Bianca's features. "Good, little demigod. You will have to do until the second package gets here."

His dream shifted to the underworld. An angry Hades paced in front of his throne with an amused looking Thanatos standing to the side. Hades noticed Jackson and turned to him.

"You!" He said stepping off the raised dais where his throne sat towards Jackson. "You first let my son be taken by the enemy. Then you took my daughter, the prophecy child to the Olympian camp. You have failed your mission."

Thanatos tried to step forward to defend his cousin, but Jackson held up his hand. "I am deeply sorry my lord, Nico was like a brother to me. But I know where he is now and how we can save him. No excuse I will tell you will bring back your son, but I ask you to listen first.

Hades sighed and gestured with his hand to go on. Jackson explained about the monsters and how the campers had attempted to rescue them. Their rescue for the campers, the hunter's interference, and Nico saving Fern were all told to Hades as the Lord of the Dead paced the throne room.

"Nico is currently on Mount Othrys, holding the sky. There's going to be a quest soon, I can feel it. My sister and I will go, we will save Nico, I promise. Your son sacrificed himself to save my sister. I will do whatever it takes to get him back, even if it kills me. As a true sign that I am sorry, I offer you my axe, my most trusted weapon," Jackson holds out his axe to Hades.

For a long moment, Hades stares at the axe. Slowly, he closes Jackson's open fingers around the weapon handle. "You proved yourself to me by protecting my children for this long. You will need your most trusted weapon to get my son back. I'm giving you another chance. Do not fail me."

Before he could nod in reply, the dream faded.

The next day went by in a blur. Jackson informed Fern of their new challenge before telling Bianca that Nico was still alive. The daughter of Hades looked relieved, but she was still upset that he had fallen in the first place. She was blaming herself for it, but the children of Chaos tried to distract her with a stygian iron weapon that Jackson had found under his pillow, obviously from Hades and for Bianca.

The blade was a long dagger, almost a sword at two feet long. Bianca was good with it, really good. They couldn't tell her where they had gotten it or her father yet, but Bianca was glad to have a weapon that finally worked for her.

Zoe Nightshade looked pretty upset at dinner that night. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron, like she couldn't believe he was making her do this. The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armor. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying. As he passed by to sacrifice food for Chaos, he heard one girl ask, "Who will lead the hunt if Lady Artemis is lost?" Zoe shushed the girl and glared at Jackson.

Soon it was time for capture the flag. Jackson and Fern used the mist to cover up the fact that their armor and weapons were made of strange metals. On their team, there was Beckendorf, the african american son of Hephaestus, and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin, Apollo's children, the children of Demeter, the Stoll brothers and a few other unclaimed from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. Everyone seemed shocked that Aphrodite wanted to play. Jackson guessed they were the gossip of the camp, not the fighters.

Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.

"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team—Camp Half-Blood—shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis—red team—shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

Annabeth said, "Blue team! Follow me!"

They cheered and followed. Annabeth had the team set the flag at the top of Zeus's Fist. It's this cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if you look at it just the right way, looks like a huge fist sticking out of the ground. If you look at it from any other side, it looks like a pile of enormous deer droppings. It was a good place to hide the flag, not the best ever, but a pretty good choice. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it had to be, and it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards of it.

"We'll send out a decoy to the left," Annabeth told the team. "Silena, you lead that."

"Got it!"

"Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise."

"That won't work," Jackson said.

All eyes turned to look at him. Fern stepped up. "He's right. If you lead a team around the right, that will leave the middle wide open. If you lead down the middle, the hunters can swarm the middle attackers.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "I suppose you've got a better plan?"

"Yes," Jackson said with certainty. "Silena's distraction team and your team need to be equal in size. They will distract the flanks while a smaller team rushes in to get the flag. The Hephaestus kids need to set more traps around the boulders."

Everybody glanced at Annabeth. After a long pause, she spoke up. "And what if it fails?"

"You can blame me. The hunters aren't like other opponents you've faced before. They are fast, quiet, and smart. You need to vary your strategy."

"All right then. Thalia, you will lead the left flank team. Take five people with you. Jillian, you take five more and attack the right side. Beckendorf, Leo, Katie, Stolls, make some traps so it's hard for the hunters to get to the boulder. I'll be a top a tree, looking for weak spots," Turning to Jackson, Annabeth continued. "I guess you will be going down the center."

He nodded. "Bianca and Fern will come with me."

Many campers murmured dissent at this. "My sister and I are a team, we can work together well. I have known Bianca longer than I have known any of you, I would know how she thinks. Being claimed doesn't affect your brain strategy or your skills."

The blue team broke into their smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began.

Jillian's group disappeared into the woods on the right at the same time Thalia's went to the left. Jackson gave them a few seconds before the trio headed down towards the creek.

"We'll try to be as silent and as stealthy as we can until the hunters raise the alarm. Then it's all about speed," Fern murmured.

They jumped across the cold creek and continued through the woods moving swiftly. On either side of them, they could hear fighting, but no one attacked them. Soon they reached a clearing with the silver flag in the center, no guards around it. Jackson paused, his senses scanning the area. The flag is a bright silver, too bright. He reached out in the moisture in the air to find that the flag was a mirage.

A thud came from the ground behind them. Zoe Nightshade stood there, bow drawn. "Good to see thee has finally found the flag," She spat. Bianca was inching closer to the false flag. Jackson knew Fern could sense the false flag. _Find the real flag while I distract her, _he sent through their mental connection.

Drawing his axe, Zoe took this as a sign of attack and fired three arrows swiftly. Easily, he chopped them in half, then in half again. The huntress narrowed her eyes before charging him, firing arrows before pulling out her knifes. Jackson parried away her strikes, rolling away to disengage her.

Zoe hook her arm onto a strong branch and swung herself up. That's when Jackson noticed the other flag. This flag was a dim silver and woven into the branches. Fern saw it the same moment her did. She ran the base of the nearest tree before running up the trunk. Zoe realized her predicament and yelled. She dropped out of the tree with ease, launching herself at Jackson. He ducked and swung his axe, disarming her of one of her knifes. Unfortunately for him, Zoe yanked another knife out of her boot. Great.

"Bianca, go! I'll cover your back!" Fern yelled once she had grabbed the flag, throwing it to Bianca. Zoe's eyes widened. She could chase down the flag now, but turning her back on Jackson would be fatal. If she stayed to fight him, the campers would win. Her attacks on Jackson increased intensity, but still she could not land a blow. When one of her knifes clipped a little too far to the left, Jackson spun his axe around, grabbing onto the blade. He swung the shaft into the back of her knees, knocking her to the ground. Seeing his chance, he sprinted after his sister and Bianca. Zoe got to her feet, but Jackson was already far off. Drawing her bow, she sprinted after them.

Fern was busy protecting Bianca from the hunters that were swarming them. She knocked two away with her staff while drawing a knife and pinning the girl to a tree by her armor straps. Bianca had out her long blade and was slashing at any hunter that attacked her front side. While Fern was occupied on the right, a group of hunters shot arrows to Bianca's left. Jackson put on a burst of speed and chopped the arrows to pieces. He sent his axe whirling at the surprised hunters, knocking them out with the handle, as maiming wasn't allowed. The axe spun back to his hand as Bianca dashed the last few yards to the creek. She plunged into the cold water, cringing a little, and crossed to the other side.

The campers cheered as both sides converged on the creek. Chiron appeared out of the woods, looking cheerful.

"The Campers win!" Chiron announced with pleasure. Then he muttered, "Breaking the hunters' fifty five winning streak."

The hunters glared sourly at the campers. Jackson noticed the team that was attempting to take their flag had been only been a few hundred yards from the creek. He saw the girl carrying the camper's flag at her side, looking glum.

"Good game," He told her, holding out his hand.

She looked at him oddly, her rainbow eyes watching his hand like it was a snake. Finally she reached out and shook the hand. "You too."

"Are you a daughter of Iris?" He asked.

The girl nodded her light haired head. "How could you tell?"

"I noticed the flag was a mirage, so someone with powers over deception or colors had to be in the hunters, and your eyes are multicolored," He didn't say that he had seen pictures of Iris and saw the likeness.

"You figured out the flag trick?" She asked. "By the way, my name is Cleona."

"Jackson," He raised his hand and some water floated over to them. "I used the moisture to sense that the flag was a mirage. Rainbows have water in them."

He had done it so subconsciously that he didn't even realize he was using his powers over water. Mistake. Chiron was watching him oddly, but something behind Jackson and Cleona caught his eye.

Someone… something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. I'd never heard him sound so nervous. "It… she has never left the attic. Never."

And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around their feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

Nobody dared to even move. Then her voice hissed inside his head. Apparently everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears.

_I am the spirit of Delphi_, The voice said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python_.

The Oracle regarded everyone with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Bianca di Angelo. _Approach, Seeker, and ask_.

Bianca swallowed. "What must I do to save my brother?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. I saw the vague image of a mountain, and a boy standing at the barren peak. It was Nico, and he was weakly holding up the sky. He was kneeling and it looked like he was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

_Six shall go west to the captured in chains,_

_One shall be taken in the land without rain,_

_Seeker, two siblings, lightning, owl, and huntress,_

_Shall be chased by something worse than death._

_The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

_And one's fate shall be decided by a family hand._

Then the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as a statue, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.

**How was it? I hoped you enjoyed reading it.**

**The part with Cleona was just to explain the flag. Remember this is NOT Percy x OC. Percy is paired with a canon character that I have already chosen. But the story is more about siblingship than romance.**

**For those who have read both Storm Rising and this, which story should get an update next?**

**Remember to review! **

**Thanks!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	10. Bianca's Quest Part 1

**I'm back with another chapter.**

**Review Responses**

**Sophia E. Anderson- of course I can leave a chapter ending like that. I'm the author.**

**Ancient Tide- Yeah, she does go to school in Brooklyn with Sadie and Lacy, but let's just pretend she hasn't been enrolled yet or she came to camp for winter break. Like why in the lost hero was she at camp?**

**kablamstar- I'm confused on what you are asking. This section of the story will follow the titan's curse quest closely, but not as closely as Rick RIordan does. I want to give you guys some time to learn about the characters before I throw in some big boom boom.**

**XxBanewolvesLiveAgainxX- I thought you were going to say that.**

**Torrent14- The pairing isn't Annabeth or Thalia- I have big plans for those two... Not together though.**

**xRinneandSharinx- The pairing is top secret classified information. However the story as a whole is not about romance, it's more about sibling love.**

**123percabeth- they will not find out who Jackson and Fern are for a long time. This chapter Zoe knows a little more, but not a lot.**

**daughterofjupiter27- yeah no, it doesn't work that way. Unless you have actually reviewed a recent installment of Storm Rising, there is no proof you have read it. So you could just be saying it to get more updates.**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners.**

_**Previously at Camp Half Blood,**_

_**Then the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as a statue, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.**_

Chiron elected two campers that Jackson didn't know the names of to carry the mummy back upstairs to the attic before telling all of the camp counselors that there would be a meeting in the big house rec room in ten minutes. The campers and hunters dispersed, their mood considerably darkened from the weight of the prophecy over their heads.

"Bianca dear," Chiron pulled the girl aside. The children of Chaos waited for her nearby. "You should come to the meeting, too. It is your prophecy."

The daughter of Hades nodded before rejoining her friends, sighing. "These have been the craziest days of my life, these last three. I was supposed to be going back to a hotel with Nico for winter break, and now I found out that my math partner and the vice principal are monsters! Then Nico falls off a cliff and I realize that you guys are a part of this mythical world too. A twelve year old girl is a goddess, then we ride in the sun car! Of course on my first night of capture the flag, the mummy lady walks down here and gives me a prophecy to get myself killed! I don't even know how to fight!" She pauses to take a long breath. "Sorry, I was blabbing."

"It's okay," Jackson said. "I just always knew that this," He gestured around at the camp. "Was a part of my life. I never thought about what it would be like to learn about this messed up world through some messed up situations."

Bianca took a deep breath and exhaled. "Thanks guys," Pausing she looked at their faces carefully. "Would you mind coming to the meeting with me?"

"Are we allowed?" Fern asked.

"Screw the rules. She's the one with the prophecy, she can bring whoever she likes!" Jackson said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The girls break into smiles as they climb the steps of the Big House Porch.

Inside, they can't find the rec room, _didn't they ever think of getting a map? _One of the boys who had to carry the oracle back up to the attic pointed down the hallway, showing them where it was. The council was held around a Ping-Pong table. The pudgy guy, Dionysus, waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of us were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody drank that either.

Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoe and Atlanta, who was Zoe's assistant, took the other end. Thalia, Jillian, Annabeth, Grover, and the Stoll brothers sat along the right, and the other head councilors—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Katie Gardner, Michael Yew- sat on the left. Jackson took a seat next to Beckendorf with his sister and Bianca next to him. They didn't see an Ares representative, they were probably injured from capture the flag and this Clarisse person was away.

Zoe started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.

"There is no time for talk," Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Atlanta said. She had golden blonde hair and blue eyes, a daughter of Apollo. "You heard the prophecy. _Five shall go west to the captured in chains_. We can get five hunters and go."

"Yes," Zoe agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

"You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said. "_Campers and Hunters combined prevail_. We're supposed to do this together."

"No!" Zoe said. "The Hunters do not need thy help."

"_Your,"_ Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said _thy_ in, like, three hundred years, Zoe. Get with the times."

Zoe hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly. "_Yerrr_. We do not need _yerrr_ help."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it."

"I fear the prophecy says you _do_ need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. "_One shall be taken. One's fate shall be decided_. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail _because_ you try to cooperate?"

"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"Guys, you are forgetting that the prophecy was given to Bianca. The oracle approached HER and gave HER the prophecy," Katie Garner reminded them.

All eyes turned to Bianca. Suddenly, as though they had missed them when they had walked in, everyone noticed Jackson and Fern. Jackson waved at them and smiled a bit sarcastically.

"What is thee doing here?" Zoe asked. "This is a meeting for the head campers. Thou is not even claimed."

"Bianca isn't claimed and she was given a quest. As I remember, Zoe, you are not a head camper," Fern said.

Zoe's face tightened and her fist clenched. "I should c-"

"We must not delay," Chiron interrupted. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."

"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoe," said Chiron. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"The prophecy says Seeker, two siblings, lightning, owl, and huntress," Annabeth added. "The seeker is clearly Bianca, as the oracle said, Approach Seeker and Ask."

"The lightning is Thalia and the owl is Athena," Michael Yew finalized.

"I will go as head counselor of the Athena cabin," Annabeth volunteered.

"So far, Bianca, Annabeth, and Thalia are going," Chiron rephrased. "But the two siblings and the huntress?"

"Atlanta and I will go. Phoebe can lead the hunt until we return," Zoe said.

"Again Zoe, you forgot something. The prophecy said huntress, not hunters, or huntresses. Only one hunter can go," Thalia sounded annoyed.

"Are you questioning my authority?" Zoe stood up.

"Sure," Dionysus yawned.

Chiron stepped in before Zoe could kill anyone with the ping pong paddle she held. "We need to discuss who the two siblings are? Are they full blooded or related on the godly side?"

"Jackson and Fern will come with me," Bianca jumped in. "I trust them to cover my back."

Shouts of protest began before Zoe slammed the paddle on the table. "SILENCE!" The yelling stopped. "Lady Artemis is in trouble and thee are arguing like children? Bianca has chosen her companions and as much as I despise travelling with a boy, I will go. We have wasted enough time bickering. Every second is precious. Lady Artemis is in danger."

"Zoe is right," Chiron agreed. "Bianca, Jackson, Fern, Thalia, Annabeth, and Zoe will leave at first light tomorrow."

"We should leave sooner," Annabeth interjected. "Traffic will be bad on the highway tomorrow because it's winter break,assuming we are taking the camp van."

"We need to talk about this bane of Olympus,"Jillian put in.

"You'll be retracing the goddess's path," Chiron continued "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: _The bane of Olympus shows the trail_."

"This monster—the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be," Zoe looked desperate.

Everybody looked at Dionysus, he was the only god present and gods are supposed to know things. He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent, he glanced up, "Well, don't look at me. I'm a _young_ god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

"Chiron," Beckendorf said, "You don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Jillian's father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"_One shall be taken in the land without rain,"_ Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert."

There was a muttering of agreement. Chiron and Zoe exchanged a nervous look. Mount Othyrs, where Zoe had grown up in the garden of the Hesperides was now home to Atlas holding the sky. Except he escaped from the burden.

"_And one's fate shall be decided by a family hand_," Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. "Whose family members would kill them?"

There was heavy silence around the table. Jillian and Thalia had matching looks of fear. On their godly side, many gods wouldn't hesitate to kill them.

"And chased by this worse than death," Silena looked grim.

"There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.

Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of _Wine Connoisseur_ magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Bianca, Jackson, Fern, Thalia, Annabeth, and Zoe will leave as soon as possible," Chiron concluded. "Meeting dismissed."

Jackson was leaving the room with Bianca and Fern when Chiron called him back. "Jackson, can I see you for a minute?"

"Go back to Hermes cabin," Jackson told his sister. "If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, throw some clothes into my hiking backpack."

Fern nodded before she and Bianca left the big house. He walked back into Chiron. "What did you need sir?"

Dionysus looked up and spat, "Heroes."

"Would you mind leaving us alone, Mr. D?" Chiron asked. The wine god sighed before leaving the rec room, grumbling about diet coke. "I saw you controlling the water tonight," Chiron stated, pausing to see Percy's reaction. "You are of the sea. I can tell that much. So I will give you a gift of the sea," Out of his pocket, Chiron pulled a ball point pen. "Uncap it."

Jackson uncapped it, already sensing the magic. The pen expanded into a three foot long blade of celestial bronze, with the words, _Anaklumos, _Riptide, engraved.

"The pen will always return to your pocket," Chiron said. "It is rightfully yours."

The son of Thalassa didn't get the same feeling, but he put it in his pocket anyways. "Thanks."

"Good luck on the quest," Chiron called as he left the room. Once outside, Jackson jogged in the darkness to the Hermes cabin where all the lights were still on. Everyone was still up, sitting around, half ready for bed. Fern and Bianca had already packed their stuff. Travis Stoll had loaned Bianca one of the backpacks Hermes had given him, designed to hold an endless amount of stuff. Using her hiking backpack, Fern was done packing. She had laid out his hiking backpack and his duffel bag on his bunk. Swiftly, Jackson packed a change of clothes and the other necessities into his magical backpack. The bag, made for hiking, already had a sleeping bag, granola bars, water bottles, etc. He checked that the stash of mortal money and the bag of drachmas were still inside. Patting his pockets for his weapons, he felt reassured that they were there.

The trio left the cabin as the others half hearted wished them good luck. They walked to the back of the Big House where a white van was parked in the driveway. A hundred eyed man, Argus, was standing by the driver's side door. He handed the keys to Percy before walking off, not saying a word. As the first ones there, they unlocked the van and put their stuff on the seats as they waited.

"Who's driving?" Bianca asked.

"We're not nearly old enough," Fern said. "And I wouldn't let Thalia drive after the sun bus experience."

"So Annabeth or Zoe?" Jackson summed up. "I think Annabeth. As a daughter of Athena, she would be the most knowledgeable on the road.

The said blonde walked up at that moment, a gray backpack slung over her shoulders. "Want to drive?" Fern offered her the keys.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Why me?"

"Well, you're the oldest at fourteen, asides from Zoe, and with your brain capacity you are most qualified to drive," Jackson reasoned.

The girl took is as a good enough answer and placed her bag in between the driver and passenger seats. "Where are Thalia and Zoe?"

"Here," Zoe stepped into the light coming off of the Big House. She walked to the other side of the car and hopped in the passenger seat, placing her bag in between her feet. "When can we leave?"

"As soon as Thalia get here," Annabeth replied, getting into the car. The others followed suit. Bianca and Fern climbed into the way back, leaving Jackson alone in the middle row for now. He didn't mind though, Fern and Bianca had done a lot together.

After waiting for a good fifteen minutes, Zoe pulled out her bow and began smoothing the wood. "Where is the daughter of Zeus?"

Thalia came running up, her backpack open and her eyes wide. "Sorry guys," She said as she climbed into the middle seat next to Jackson.

"Sorry?" Zoe spat. "What was thee doing? We could have been already on the road."

"Let it go Zoe," Annabeth said kindly. "She's here now. We need to get going though," She turned the key in the ignition and drove out on the big house driveway. "What we do need to talk about is our transportation west and where exactly are we going."

"We need to head for California," Fern reasoned. "It's one of the farthest points west in the United States, save Hawaii."

Zoe nodded stiffly. "We should take the van as far as we can."

"Any planes? They are the fastest way to get somewhere," Annabeth asked.

"No," Jackson, Fern, Bianca, and surprisingly Thalia said at the same time.

"Planes may be quick but they certainly aren't safe. Say we were on a plane with a monster. We would be trapped thousands of feet up in the air with mortals and monsters. Not a good combination," Jackson added.

"So we'll drive this van until we get to D.C.," Annabeth stated as she turned onto the highway.

"Why stop?" Zoe questioned.

"Let's face it, there is going to be a lot of monsters," Bianca explained. "We are five powerful halfbloods and one huntress. We are going to attract a ton of monsters."

"Exactly why we shouldn't stop!" Thalia argued.

"But we need rest to be able to fight better. Let's face it, none of us have gotten any sleep in almost the last twenty four hours. We aren't going to be much good in a fight," Fern said.

"I am a hunter. I do not sleep while my lady needs me or the monsters live," Zoe sounded like she rehearsed the line.

"How about a compromise, we drive to D.C. and rest there until eightish, then continue westward," Bianca formulated.

Zoe huffed before turning to stare out the window, but they know she won't argue anymore.

"Gets some rest," Annabeth instructs them. "I'll wake you guys up if anything happens."

Jackson leans his head against the car door and is soon asleep. Sleep only brings one thing: nightmares.

In his dream, he was somebody else. He was wearing an old-fashioned Greek tunic, which was a little too breezy downstairs, and laced leather sandals. A animal skin, some type of glittery lion was draped on his back like a cape. Jackson was running somewhere, being pulled along by a girl who was tightly gripping my hand.

"Hurry!" she said. It was too dark to see her face clearly, but fear was evident in her voice. "He will find us!"

It was nighttime. A million stars blazed above. Tall grass swished around them as they ran, and the scent of a thousand different flowers made the air intoxicating. It was a beautiful garden, and yet the girl was running through it as if her death chased her.

"I'm not afraid," The guy tried to tell her.

"You should be!" She said, pulling him along. She had long dark hair braided down her back. Her silk robes glowed faintly in the starlight.

Racing up the side of the hill, she pulled him behind a thorn bush. They collapsed, both breathing heavily. It was confusing why the girl was so scared. The garden seemed so peaceful. He was strong. Stronger than he had ever been before.

"There is no need to run, I have bested a thousand monsters with my bare hands."

"Not this one," The girl said. "Ladon is too strong. You must go around, up the mountain to my father. It is the only way."

"I don't trust your father."

"You should not," The girl agreed. "You will have to trick him. But you cannot take the prize directly. You will die.'"

The man chuckled. "Then why don't you help me, pretty one?"

"I… I am afraid. Ladon will stop me. My sisters, if they found out… they would disown me."

"Then there's nothing for it," He stood up.

"Wait.'" the girl said. She seemed to be agonizing over a decision. Then, her fingers trembling, she reached up and plucked a long white brooch from her hair. "If you must fight, take this. My mother, Pleione, gave it to me. She was a daughter of the ocean, and the ocean's power is within it. _My_ immortal power."

The girl breathed on the pin and it glowed faintly. It gleamed in the starlight like polished abalone.

"Take it," she told me. "And make of it a weapon."

"A hairpin? How will this slay Ladon, pretty one?"

"It may not," she admitted. "But it is all I can offer, if you insist on being stubborn."

The girl's voice softened his heart. He reached down and took the hairpin, and as he did, it grew longer and heavier in his hand, until he held a familiar bronze sword.

"Well balanced. Though I usually prefer to use my bare hands. What shall I name this blade?"

"Anaklusmos," the girl said sadly. "The current that takes one by surprise. And before you know it, you have been swept out to sea."

There was a trampling sound in the grass, a hiss like air escaping a tire, and the girl said, "Too late! He is here!"

The dream changed. Jackson was still in the same place, just hundreds of years into the future.

He was back in that barren cave, the ceiling heavy and low above him. Nico was kneeling under the weight of the sky. He was too tired even to cry out. His legs trembled. Any second, he would run out of strength and the sky would crush him.

"How is our mortal guest?" A male voice voice was deep and low, like a bass guitar. Its force made the ground vibrate.

A sandy haired, blue eyed guy, presumably Luke, emerged from the shadows. He walked to Nico, knelt beside him, then looked back at the unseen man. "He's fading. We must hurry."

The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, at the edge of my dream. Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light—Artemis—her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains. Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places, and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods.

"You heard the boy," Said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"

Artemis's eyes flashed with anger. She glared at Nico, probably remembering how Bianca would have joined the hunt had she not been so close to her brother.

"I will not take the sky from a boy," She spat.

The man in the shadows, Atlas, made a growling noise. "Thorn!" He called out.

The vice principal stepped out of the shadows. "You called, cheneral?" He said in his french accent.

"You have failed us Thorn," Atlas' voice was calm, but the anger behind it was barely controlled.

"I can go get a girl now," Thorn tried to make up. "Zhey are headed to-"

"No!" Atlas' voice was firm. "Luke, take the goddess back to the dungeons. Then we have to leave."

The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the whole cavern ceiling would collapse.

Jackson awoke with a start. His dream was terrifying at the least. Nico had been holding the sky for over a day now. He would be fading. They had to hurry. And the disturbing dream about the girl and the hero. The hero had to be Hercules, he was the only one who would have done those things. The girl tugged at the corners of his mind, but he couldn't place her.

The van was in a parking lot in the Washington D.C. museum and monument area. The Washington Monument's point glinted in the morning sun. Nearby, the Museum of Natural History was letting some people in, but the sign said closed for private event. Across the capitol lawn, the air and space museum was opening up.

Opening his backpack, Jackson pulled out the jacket Chaos had given him. Tugging it on, he opened the car door silently and slipped out. After his nightmares, he needed some time to think and the cold air cleared his head.

A block away, the door of a black sedan opened. A man with gray hair and a military buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Now, maybe in Washington, you'd expected guys like that to be everywhere. The guy took out his mobile phone and said something into it. Then he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the Mall in the direction of the Natural History Smithsonian. When he turned, his face was easily recognizable. It was Dr. Thorn, the manticore from Westover Hall.

Ducking his head, Jackson pulled up his hood. The jacket shimmered for a second before his body turned invisible, one of the magical properties.

Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of Natural History. He followed Dr. Thorn inside, through a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons. There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. Two guards stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn, and he had to sprint to get inside before they closed them again. Inside, the sight was so terrible, he almost gasped.

They was in a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen mortal guards stood on the balcony, plus two monsters—reptilian women with double-snake trunks instead of legs, Scythian dracaenae.

But that wasn't the worse of it. Standing between the snake women, was the Luke guy. He looked terrible. His skin was pale and his blond hair looked almost gray, as if he'd aged ten years in just a few months. The angry light in his eyes was still there, and so was the scar down the side of his face, where a dragon had once scratched him. But the scar was now ugly red, as though it had recently been reopened.

Next to him, sitting down so that the shadows covered him, was another man. All that could be seen were his knuckles on the gilded arms of his chair, like a throne, but it was enough to know that Atlas was here.

"Well?" Asked the man in the chair. His voice filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling.

Dr. Thorn took off his shades. His two-colored eyes, brown and blue, glittered with excitement. He made a stiff bow, then spoke in his weird French accent: "They are here, General."

"I know that, you fool," Boomed Atlas. "But where?"

"In ze place where ze cars park."

"The parking lot," Luke corrected irritably.

Dr. Thorn glared at Luke. "As you say, _sir."_

"How many?" Luke asked. Thorn pretended not to hear.

"_How many_?" the General demanded.

"Six, General," Thorn said. "The daughter of Athena, and the girl with the spiky black hair and the—how do you say—_punk_ clothes and the horrible shield."

"Annabeth and Thalia," Luke said.

"The other half bloods, Bianca, Fern and Jackson. And one other girl, a hunter. One wears a silver circlet."

"_That_ one I know," the General growled. Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"Let me take them," Luke said to the General. "We have more than enough—"

"Patience," the General said. "They'll have their hands full already. We will send a little playmate to keep them occupied."

"But—"

"We cannot risk you, my boy."

"Yes, _boy_," Dr. Thorn said with a cruel smile. "You are much too fragile to risk. Let _me_ finish them off."

"No," The General rose from his chair, and Jackson saw him for the first time in real life.

He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He wore an expensive brown silk suit like the guys on Wall Street wear. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could snap a flagpole in half. His eyes were like stone.

"You have already failed me, Thorn," he said.

"But, General—"

"No excuses! I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence," the General said. "I send you to capture a child of the three elder gods, and you bring me a scrawny unclaimed male demigod who Artemis will not take the sky from!"

"But you promised me revenge," Thorn protested. "A command of my own!"

"_I_ am Lord Kronos's senior commander," the General said. "And I will choose lieutenants who get me results! It was only thanks to Luke that we salvaged our plan at all. Now get out of my sight, Thorn, until I find some other menial task for you."

Thorn's face turned purple with rage, but he just bowed awkwardly and left the room.

"Now, my boy." The General turned to Luke. "The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her."

"The Hunter will be difficult to dispose of," Luke said. "Zoe Nightshade—"

"Do not speak her name!"

Luke swallowed. "S—sorry, General. I just—"

The General silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Let me show you, my boy, how we will bring the Hunters down."

He pointed to a guard on the ground level. "Do you have the teeth?"

The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. "Yes, General!"

"Plant them," he said.

In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt. Jackson watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smiled coldly.

The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. "Ready, General!"

"Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey."

The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was dark red liquid. The soil began to bubble.

"Soon," the General said, "I will show you, Luke, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant."

Luke clenched his fists. "I've spent a year training my forces! When the _Princess Andromeda_ arrives at the mountain, they'll be the best—"

"Ha," the General said. "I don't deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord Kronos. And you, of course, will have a role to play—"

Luke turned paler when the General said that.

"—but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines."

The soil erupted. In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The first of them said:

"Mew?"

It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt.

Everyone stared at them in disbelief. The General roared, "_What is this? Cute cuddly kittens? Where did you find those teeth_?"

The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. "From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-toothed tiger—"

"No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those… those infernal fuzzy little beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again."

The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room.

"You.'" The General pointed to another guard. "Get me the _right teeth. NOW_!"

The new guard ran off to carry out his orders.

"Imbeciles,' muttered the General.

"This is why I don't use mortals," Luke said. "They are unreliable."

"They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent," the General said. "I love them."

A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large pointy teeth.

"Excellent," the General said. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet. Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing, and rubbed his shoulders. "Curse my stiff neck."

"Another hot pad, sir?" A guard asked. "More Tylenol?"

"No! It will pass." The General brushed off his silk suit, then snatched up the teeth. "I shall do this myself."

He held up one of the teeth and smiled. "Dinosaur teeth—ha! Those foolish mortals don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just _any_ dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely."

He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. Rise!

The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air.

The General looked up at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?"

"Yesssss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.

"Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunters and their allies to shreds. Toss it here!"

As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General had planted. They were nothing like Halloween skeletons, or the kind you might see in cheesy movies. These were growing flesh as Jackson watched, turning into men, but men with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes—gray muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots, but their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-ray images. One of the skeletons looked straight at Jackson, and though he knew Chaos' magic was too strong for the skeleton to see him, it could still sense him there.

The snake lady released the scarf and it fluttered down toward the General's hand. As soon as he gave it to the warriors, they would hunt Zoe and the others until they were extinct. Jackson ran for the scarf, but a voice in his head stopped him.

_Percy! _It was Imogene. _We're at the Air and Space Museum! There are some super powerful monsters outside the museum! Get your butt over here!_

In the split second that he had hesitated, the sparta had gotten the scarf. There was no time to waste. Now they had death machines and two major monsters to deal with. Jackson dissolved into water vapor and appeared, still invisible outside of the other smithsonian. He tore off the jacket and raced inside.

The main part of the museum was one huge room with rockets and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. Three levels of balconies curled around, so you could look at the exhibits from all different heights. The place wasn't crowded, just a few families and a couple of tour groups of kids, probably doing one of those holiday school trips. The families needed to leave, but Jackson already had enough problems without getting arrested for yelling at tourists. Any minute, the skeleton dudes were going to invade the museum.

He ran into Thalia—literally. Jackson was barreling up the ramp to the top-floor balcony and slammed into her, knocking her into an Apollo space capsule. Pulling her to her feet, he apologized.

"Jackson, what's wrong?" Thalia asked.

Zoe glared at the son of Chaos. "Why did thee leave the van?"

"No time. Luke," Jackson tried to explain quickly. "He's here."

The anger in Thalia's eyes immediately melted. She put her hand on her silver bracelet. "Where?"

He told them about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General.

"The General is _here_?" Zoe looked stunned. "That is impossible! You lie."

"Why would I lie? Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors—"

Fern's eyes widened in fear. Jackson knew his sister sensed the monsters outside of the museum and knew how destructive sparta were. They had to get out of here. "How many?" She asked quietly.

"Twelve," He replied swiftly. "We need to leave now. The general, Thorn, Sparta, and more monsters, we can't fight that many."

"It _cannot_ be the general!" Zoe snapped. "Jackson must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion."

"Illusions don't crack marble floors," He told her. Zoe took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

Thalia twisted her bracelet. "We need to leave now. Anything dead that can still fight is bad."

"That is not thy decision!" Zoe snapped.

Thalia scowled at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoe. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"

"You never had any wisdom when it came to decisions," Zoe growled. "You never could make the right one!"

Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoe. Then everyone froze, a growl so loud, a rocket might have been starting up, reverberated throughout the museum.

Below them, a few adults screamed. A little kid's voice screeched with delight: "Kitty!"

Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur.

"The Nemean Lion," Annabeth said. "Don't move."

The lion roared so loud it parted their hair. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel.

"Separate on my mark," Zoe said. "Try to keep it distracted."

"Until when?" Bianca asked.

"Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!" Annabeth yelled, ducking to the right. Zoe leapt for a space capsule with the grace of a gazelle. Bianca ran to the escalator and slid down the railing, Fern and Jackson right behind her. Thalia followed Annabeth.

"The Nemean lion's coat is completely invulnerable!" Annabeth said as arrows whistled over her head, Zoe was trying to hit the big cat. "It has no external weaknesses. It's only weakness is it's mouth, more specifically the tongue."

The lion roared, showing off it's bright pink tongue but it snapped it's jaw shut before Zoe's arrow could find it's mark. Behind them, a hiss could be hear.

"Hydra!" Fern yelled. "Duck!"

The three on the floor hit the deck before the flames could hit them. A scaly green monster clambers over the burnt hole in the side of the museum. It's nine diamond shaped heads swivel around, scanning us.

"Crazy plan time!" Jackson called as he dodged a large kitty paw, avoiding becoming meow mix. "Thalia, Annabeth, Bianca, you guys attack the hydra. Thalia will burn the heads after you two cut them off. Fern and I will get the lion to open its mouth. Zoe will then shoot its mouth. Go!"

The plan wasn't perfect, not even close. There wasn't enough strength attacking the hydra, but it would have to do. The siblings exchanged looks, their attack already formed.

"Be ready to shoot!" Fern yelled to Zoe. The lieutenant nodded.

The siblings drew their weapons, Fern with her staff, Jackson his axe. They ran straight at the lion's front paws, yelling Ahhhhhhh! The nemean lion looked confused at this odd behavior and backed up. Just before they hit the metallic paws, they sidestepped inward, sprinting under the belly. Spinning one hundred and eighty degrees, they whammed the shaft of their weapons into the back of the kitty's legs. Weapons wouldn't damage the fur, but they could cause a lot of pain in the joints. The creature let out a huge roar, but it turned it's face away from Zoe so she couldn't get a clear shot. The siblings attacked with more ferocity, but the lion wouldn't open its mouth. They needed a new plan, but what would work?

From one of the exhibits, Jackson grabbed a coil of 'moon rope'. Attaching the rope to one end of his axe and the other to a metal bar, he whirled the axe to his sister. "Fern, catch!"

She caught the handle with her left hand and looped it around another bar. Throwing back to him, Jackson caught it over by the entrance. Soon they had woven a web of rope from throwing and hooking the rope.

The lion roared in frustration as it tripped over a rope. Zoe took the chance and shoot the monsters a barrage of arrows in the mouth. Without even watching the lion pelt shrink into a coat, they raced over to help the others with the hydra.

Annabeth was laying unconscious on the ground while Bianca tried to distract the heads and cut them off. Thalia was shocking the monster, but it wasn't helping much. They had destroyed two of the heads, two stumps were charred and smoking, and only seven were left. Bianca's leg was badly burned and Thalia had a long poisonous cut down her arm.

"Bianca and Zoe, protect Thalia while she burns the heads. Jackson, cut off the heads while I distract the monster!" Fern ordered as she charged the monster, her staff swinging. She stabbed at the monster while Jackson's axe whizzed over her head, effectively cutting off three of the seven remaining heads. He could have done better, but Thalia couldn't electrocute that many heads so quickly. Bianca parried away a claw with her dagger while Zoe pushed back a head with her hunting knife. Electricity sparked between Thalia's fingers, shooting out to cauterize the stump. Jackson's axe sliced off the remaining four heads. Thalia swiftly shocked three of the amputated necks, but she didn't get the fourth fast enough.

"Activate plan Sunglasses McDonalds!" Jackson yelled, mentally praying to Tartarus. When they had left the Void, Tartarus had been showing them how to summon hellfire, everyone could do it it, it was just the matter of being able to stand the pain long enough. The flames only ignited twice every ten tries. Tartarus had told them they had to yell, Activate plan Sunglasses McDonald's or else it wouldn't work.

Flames caught the edges of Jackson's axe and Fern's staff. Simultaneously, they swung their weapons at the two remaining necks. The black and blood red flames caught fire on the hydra's body. If the hydra's heads were still intact, it would be roaring in pain. The decapitated heads rolled on the floor before disintegrating with the rest of the body.

Alarms wailed throughout the museum. People were flocking to the exits. Security guards were running around in a panic with no idea what was going on. Thalia limped to Annabeth's side.

"Anyone have any ambrosia?" Thalia asked hopefully. "The security guards are going to start asking questions soon. We need to get out of here."

"The security guards are not our biggest worry," Zoe said. "Look."

Through the glass walls of the museum, I could see a group of men walking across the lawn. Gray men in gray camouflage outfits. They were too far away for us to see their eyes, but their gaze aimed straight at the quest group.

Jackson ran over to Annabeth and picked her up. "Can you guys walk?" He asked Bianca and Thalia. They nodded and Fern helped support the limping Bianca. Zoe picked up a golden pelt from the floor, but there was no time to ask. Running across the capitol lawn, they attracted a few odd stares. Zoe hopped into the driver's seat and started up the car. Thalia jumped into the other front seat, while Jackson laid Annabeth in the middle with Fern helping. Then he and Bianca sat down into the back just as Zoe stepped onto the gas. The van screeched out of the parking lot. Several mortals hollered after them, but they were already gone.

After giving Annabeth some nectar, she began to wake up. Thalia cleaned the cut on her arm before bandaging it and eating some ambrosia. Bianca's pant leg was burned, but only to the mid thigh. Her skin was blistered, but after some cold water and ambrosia, the swelling died down.

They were crossing the Potomac when Thalia spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one we'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight toward them.

"They know the van," Annabeth said. "We have to ditch it."

Zoe swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining. "Maybe the military will shoot it down," Thalia said hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Bianca said. "How can the General use mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries," Zoe said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" Bianca asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Zoe shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than we were through D.C. traffic.

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

But the sky stayed gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm. Jackson tried to thicken the storm using his water powers, but the aircraft was flying too low for it to be effective.

"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoe said.

"Trust me," Bianca said.

Zoe shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. We left the van and followed Bianca down some steps. "Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

We bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind us for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later we were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As our train came above ground, we could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after us.

Annabeth let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

Thalia frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway."

Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

Bianca nodded.

"Bianca," Zoe said. "How long ago…" Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"We need to change trains," Jackson said. Zoe was beginning to catch onto Bianca's past. They couldn't let that happened. "Next station."

Over the next half hour, all they thought about was getting away safely. They changed trains twice. After a while the sound of the helicopter went away. Unfortunately, when the group finally got off the train, they found ourselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. It seemed much colder here.

They wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows and rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow, like they hadn't moved in years.

A homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. We must've looked pretty pathetic, because he gave us a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!'

We huddled around his fire, Thalia's teeth were chattering. She said, "Well this is g-g-g-great."

"Maybe we should contact camp," Annabeth said. "Chiron—"

"No," Zoe said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

Jackson gazed miserably around the rail yard. Somewhere, far to the west, Nico was holding the sky. Artemis was in chains. A doomsday monster, the ophiotaurus, was on the loose. And they were stuck on the outskirts of D.C., sharing a homeless persons fire.

"You know," The homeless man said. "You're never completely without friends," His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "You kids need a train going west?"

"Yes, sir," Fern said. "You know of any?"

He pointed one greasy hand. Suddenly I noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. It was one of those RV camper-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a double -deck of campers inside. The side of the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.

"That's… convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh…"

She turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of us was cold and empty, as if he'd taken the flames with him.

An hour later the train was rumbling west. Zoe crashed in a silver RV on the top deck while Jackson, Fern, and Bianca shared one of the XXL campers. Thalia hot wired one camper so she could pick up different rock stations from D.C. Annabeth found a stash of books someone had left in the back of another.

Fern and Bianca were in the back, talking, while Jackson made boiled some water for the instant hot cocoa when a knock resounded on the glass door. Zoe Nightshade stood outside of camper, her arms crossed over her chest. He pressed the button, opening the doors.

"Hey Zoe, Fern and Bianca are in the back," Jackson said, pouring hot water into mugs and mixing up the hot cocoa powder.

"I do not need to talk to them; I need to talk to thee," Zoe stubbed her shoe into the ground, looking uncomfortable.

Jackson almost dropped the mug he was carrying. "Me?"

Zoe sighed like she couldn't believe she was doing this. "Yes, I need to speak to thee," She paused glancing at the mug in his hands. "Is that hot chocolate?"

He looked up, his sea green eyes meeting her volcanic black ones. "Do you want some cocoa?"

A few minutes later the two of them were sitting in the camper next to the one where Fern and Bianca were, hot cocoa in hand. There was awkward silence between them for a few minutes.

"Thy is not a normal demigod," Zoe finally said.

Jackson lifted his head quickly. "What do you mean by a normal demigod?"

"Thy had weapons and knew about the gods before thee went to camp. I have hunted with Lady Artemis for centuries; the gods do not usually visit their children."

Sighing, Jackson tried to think of how he could keep Hades' secret and not make Zoe suspicious. "I don't know how to explain this without breaking any promises."

"Then thee doesn't have to tell me," Zoe told him. "I didn't bring thee here to talk about the abnormalities of being a half blood."

Jackson was temporarily stunned. He thought Zoe would press for the information, but here she was telling him she didn't have to know. But he felt this strong sense like he needed to tell her. "My sister and I were sent to Westover Hall by Bianca's godly parent to protect her and Nico."

In the darkness, he could see Zoe's eyes widening. "Then this god was angry when Nico fell?"

"Very, he gave us one last chance to keep both of them safe. I need to keep Bianca safe and rescue Nico."

"I will help thee," Zoe decided. "Bianca is kind and smart. She would have made a great hunter. I will protect Bianca with my life. I am going to die anyways. Why not die for a good cause?"

"What?" The wheels began to spin faster in his head. "You are one of the hesperides. We are going to Mount Tam, home to Mount Othyrs, where your father used to hold the sky. You think the last line of the prophecy refers to you?"

"Who else could it refer to? My father and sisters would gladly kill me for my betrayal," Zoe clapped a hand over her mouth as soon as she had finished speaking.

Suddenly, it clicked. The girl from the dream, the way she spoke, it was Zoe Nightshade. He had known all along that Zoe had formerly been a hesperide, but he had never realized the deeper story.

"This is yours," He drew Riptide from his pocket, holding it out to her. She capped the pen and Ananklumos sprang to life. Almost as if she was in a trance, Zoe ran her fingers over the blade.

"Thank thee Jackson Last. Now I must give thee what is rightfully thine," From her bag, she pulled out a golden pelt. "Thy killed the nemean lion with thine plan. It is thine to keep."

With nothing for him to argue about how it was hers, he took the pelt. It shrunk into golden brown fleece jacket as he took it. "Zoe, is it okay with you if I give it to Bianca?"

Immediately, Zoe understood why he had wanted to. "Of course. Thy is nothing like I expected

thee to be. Thy is a great hero unlike Hercules."

Jackson stood up, sensing their conversation was over. "Don't worry, Zoe, I'm not going to let anyone on this quest die. I promise."

"That's a dangerous promise," Zoe commented.

"I don't intend to break it."

Bianca and Fern were asleep on the fold down beds in the back when Jackson returned to the camper. He sighed before drifting off to sleep on one of the couches up front.

"Jackson," A voice said, Fern. "It's morning. The train's stopped. Come on!"

Trying to shake off his drowsiness, he climbed out of the camper. Thalia, Zoe, and Bianca had already rolled up the metal curtains. The rising sun hurt his eyes as he looked over a rocky mountain in front of them. Bianca walked up beside him.

"Bianca," Jackson handed her the nemean lion fleece.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Something for you," Bianca took that as an acceptable answer and slipped the coat on. Jackson knew it's magical properties of being able to block bullets, but he kept quiet.

Thalia joined them, looking drowsy. "Apollo visited me last night," She said, rubbing her eyes.

"What did he say?" Jackson asked.

"_Dreams like a podcast, Downloading truth in my ears. They tell me cool stuff. _And he called himself Fred," Thalia said.

"Anything worth knowing?" Jackson prompted.

"He told us to stop by old Nereus if we didn't know what the doomsday monster was by the time we got to San Francisco," Thalia said after thinking for a moment.

"Guys, come here!" Annabeth called. She and Zoe were kneeling on the floor of the train, staring at a map. We joined her, looking at the line filled map of America. "Based on the time the sun has been rising and the slant of the land, we are roughly a hundred some miles from Las Vegas."

"In english please?" Thalia asked.

Annabeth huffed. "We're in the deserts of Nevada Thalia."

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Thalia threw up her hands.

Before Annabeth and Thalia could start arguing, Bianca cut in. "Wait, did you say Las Vegas?"

"Yes," Zoe answered. "There we should easily be able to find transportation to California."

"No," Bianca shook her head hard. "I can't go to Las Vegas."

Fern and Jackson exchanged nervous glances. It was a dangerous line they were walking right now.

"It doesn't matter what city we go to at this point. What Annabeth is saying is over these mountains, we can find transportation. Why are we fighting? Let's get a move on," Jackson said.

Bianca looked grateful as they began to climb through the rocky mountain pass. After almost a day of hiking, they reached the bottom of the other side of the mountain. In front of them stretched a desert, empty and bare asides from the occasional cacti.

"We should stop here for the night," Annabeth said, putting her bag on a near by large rock.

"Thalia, can light a fire with lightning?" Fern asked.

The daughter of Zeus looked up, a little stunned. "I've never tried before, but I think I can."

"Good," Fern replied. "There is an old house over there that we should be able to get some wood from for a fire."

Soon their camp was set up. Zoe and Bianca collected firewood and piled it so Thalia could easily zap it. Fern and Jackson moved a few large rocks so that their backs were to the mountain, a semi circle of boulders around them. Annabeth dug through her bag looking for some food.

As they were laying out their sleeping bags, they discussed who would take what watch. "I'll take first watch," Fern offered.

"And I'll take second," Annabeth added. "You'll wake me up when your shift ends, right?"

"Of course," Fern replied.

"The stars are out," Zoe said.

She was right. There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange.

"Amazing," Bianca said. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way."

"This is nothing," Zoe said. "In the old days, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."

"You talk like you're not human," Annabeth said.

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "I am a Hunter. I care what happens to the wild places of the world. Can the same be said for thee?"

"For _you_," Thalia corrected. "Not _thee."_

"But you use _you_ for the beginning of a sentence."

"And for the end," Thalia said. "No _thou_. No _thee_. Just _you."_

Zoe threw up her hands in exasperation. "I _hate_ this language. It changes too often!"

They all laughed before everyone, except Fern, drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later, Fern shook Annabeth awake. After making sure the daughter of Athena was awake, Fern crawled into her sleeping bag and fell asleep.

Annabeth sat with her back to a boulder, flashlight and knife in hand. The sky was still dark, not even a hint of the sun beginning to rise. The desert was cold at night, so she was glad she was still in her sleeping bag.

A figure walked across the desert. As he came closer, Annabeth began to recognize him. His sandy blonde hair is shorter than she last remembered, but his twinkling blue eyes have not changed.

"Luke," Annabeth said, half in a daze.

"Annabeth," He replied, his smile adorning his face as he came closer.

Climbing to her feet, Annabeth walked the distance in between them. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see my favorite Annie," Luke said.

She hugged him before responding. "I'm your only Annie."

"I know."

Annabeth's good mood was swept away. "Where have you been, Luke? We looked everywhere for you. I missed you so much, and the good times we spent together."

Luke ran his hand through Annabeth's curls as he looked down at her. "I want you to come with me, Annabeth."

"What?"

"I want you to come with me. You, me, and Thalia just like the good old times. No one will ever be able to hurt you again. I'll be able to protect you."

"I want to, but where would we go?"

"The titans promised us a piece of land when they overthrow Olympus. I'll build the house that you design, and we can live there together forever," Luke promised.

"No, I can't," Annabeth backed up. "The titans are evil, the gods are good."

"Annabeth, don't you see? The titans will give us what the gods were too selfish to give. The titans will protect us and we'll never have to worry about monsters again."

"No, I can't, Luke."

"Then good bye, Annabeth," Luke turned and walked away.

"No, wait Lu-" Annabeth's world went dark.

When Jackson awoke the next morning, he could immediately tell something was wrong. He drank part of his canteen to clear his head. The sun was just breaking the tip of the horizon, casting an eerie light over the mountains. Turning around, he saw Annabeth slumped on her sleeping bag. _Guess we couldn't trust her to stay awake during the watch. _Zoe was sleeping peacefully while Bianca and Thalia were cocooned in their sleeping bags, scrunched down to the bottom. Then he looked over to his sister's sleeping bag. It was empty. Jackson forced himself to try and stay calm. She's responsible, she probably just went to get some supplies. He tried their mental connection. _Imogene, where are you? IMOGENE! _But it was blocked like someone had thrust a barrier in between them.

The ground began to shake violently. Zoe shot up, feeling the beginning quake in the earth. "Get up, get up!" She called. The others began to scramble to their feet. Then she saw Jackson.

He was standing in the middle of a perfectly round circle. All around him, the ground was shaking violently.

"Jackson!" Zoe yelled as she stumbled towards him. "Calm down!"

He turned towards her, green eyes ablaze. "Calm down! I will not calm down! My sister is missing and it is all her fault!" He lunged for Annabeth, pinning her to the ground with his sword at her throat. "What did you do with my sister?" He growled.

"I didn't do anything," Annabeth stuttered.

"Then why you asleep on YOUR watch?"

"I was knocked out."

"Explain, right now," Jackson demanded.

"Well, Fern woke me up for my watch before falling asleep. I was sitting by the boulder when Luke came across the desert. He talked with me and offered me to come with him. I accepted until he meant come with him until the titans. He walked away and then, I was knocked out."

"See? It's not her fault," Thalia tried.

Jackson turned on her. "You're taking her side on this? She was talking with the enemy!"

"He's not the enemy!" Thalia protested.

"I'm on Jackson side," Bianca walked over to stand next to him. "Our siblings would still be here if the campers hadn't interfered."

Everyone looked to Zoe. She was the last one to pick a side, determining the vote. "Annabeth had no right to mix with the enemy, however, we have more serious problems. We need to keep moving."

Walking over to Fern's things, Jackson began to pack them up, his hands shaking. A note fluttered out of her sleeping bag. _They die on the solstice. _His knees went weak as he slumped to the ground.

"Thalia, Annabeth, go find a car," He could hear Bianca instructing the others.

A hand touched his shoulder. Bianca sat next to him, comforting him the way he did for her after Nico had fallen at Westover Hall. Zoe sat a little ways off, unsure of what to do. She hadn't had much experience with this sort of thing. Bianca gently took the note from his hand. When she had read the writing, her hand went to her mouth, stifling a sob. The they referred to Fern and Nico.

"We'll get them back," Bianca promised.

An engine sound filled the air. An old tow truck rumbled down the road. The color was indescribable, it was in that bad of a shape.

"It's got a full tank of gas," Thalia told them after she shocked the engine to get it started again.

"Shouldn't we look for Fern first?" Annabeth suggested.

"We won't find her," Jackson said sadly. "One shall be taken in the land without rain. We're in a desert, a land without rain."

Annabeth drove with Thalia sitting next to her. No one expected Jackson to sit with Annabeth after what she had done, so he climbed into the back. Zoe and Bianca wordlessly followed him into the pickup bed.

The tow truck ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon. They had money to buy more gas, but it was a dead end road with no gas stations around. Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great. What now?"

Jackson scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below them.

"There's a path," Zoe said. "We could get to the river."

He tried to see what she was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. "That's a tiny path," Annabeth commented.

"What about this path?" Bianca stood by a wide path with plenty of space to walk that sloped slightly upward. The group walked along the path, though Bianca and Thalia steered far away from the edge.

Soon a huge dam the size of a football stadium appeared. "Hoover Dam," Thalia said. "It's huge."

"The dam is seven hundred feet tall and built in the 1930s. President Franklin Roosevelt had been the one to support the project, however it was name after President Herbert Hoover. The dam had five million cubic acres of water and the largest construction project in the United States at the time."

Zoe stared at her. "How do you know all that?"

"It's my favorite United States architecture piece," She said. "We have to go see it. Come on!"

Annabeth went racing off towards the dam. "Crazy," Zoe muttered.

"We don't need another detour," Jackson grumbled.

On top of the dam, Annabeth was intently reading the signs and listening to tour guides. It was cold and windy on top. On one side, a big lake spread out, ringed by barren desert mountains. On the other side, the dam dropped away like the world's most dangerous skateboard ramp, down to the river seven hundred feet below, and water that churned from the dam's vents.

Thalia walked in the middle of the road, far away from the edges.

Fern's capture had made Jackson's job so much harder. The sparta were close, he could sense that. Now only two people of the group could kill them, Bianca, because she was a daughter of Hades, and him, Chaotic steele killed anything. Even if the others could use his weapons, there still wasn't enough weapons for everyone that would kill the monsters.

"We have to leave soon. The others weapons, besides Bianca's and ours, won't do any good against them," Jackson agreed.

"There's a snack bar in the visitor center," Thalia said as the others rejoined them.

"You've been here before?" Annabeth asked.

"Once. To see the guardians," She pointed to the far end of the dam. Carved into the side of the cliff was a little plaza with two big bronze statues. They looked kind of like Oscar statues with wings.

"They were dedicated to Zeus when the dam was built," Thalia said. "A gift from Athena."

Tourists were clustered all around them. They seemed to be looking at the statues' feet.

"What are they doing?" Bianca asked.

"Rubbing the toes," Thalia said. "They think it's good luck."

"Why?"

She shook her head. "Mortals get crazy ideas. They don't know the statues are sacred to Zeus, but they know there's something special about them."

"When you were here last, did they talk to you or anything?"

Thalia's expression darkened. She had come for some connection to her dad, but none had came. "No. They don't do anything. They're just big metal statues."

"Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoe said. "We should eat while we can."

Bianca cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?"

Zoe blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"

"Nothing,"Annabeth said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam french fries."

Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."

Zoe just looked at us as they all cracked up with laughter. "I do not understand."

"I want to use the dam water fountain," Bianca said.

"And…" Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam T-shirt."

Jackson remained unmoving as the others busted up laughing. Something was very off. Suddenly the wind died. His eyes widened as he scanned the area. The approaching monsters were close.

"Guys, we need to leave now," Jackson pulled his concealed axe out of his pocket. The others stopped laughing.

Two men walking slowly toward them from the edge of the dam. They wore gray camouflage outfits that flickered over skeletal bodies. On the west side of the dam, a black van swerved to a stop in the middle of the road, nearly plowing into some old people. The van doors opened and more skeleton warriors piled out. They were surrounded.

**Yes, I know that I left out the wild boar, but without Grover, that scene is worthless. I know I discluded the scene with the junkyard of the gods and Aphrodite, but this story is a little different.**

**Some of you might be asking, why does Jackson have earth shaker powers when he is no longer a son of Poseidon? Simple. His connection to water is a lot stronger in this story. There was water under the desert floor so that was making the earthquake when Percy was angry.**

**One last thing, I put a poll on my profile to see who you guys like the best so far in the story. Percy is not on the voting list, but I'll add more characters as they are introduced.**

**Remember to review and vote!**

**Thanks!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**

**P.S. Storm Rising gets updated next.**


	11. Bianca's Quest Part 2

**Today, July 14th, marks my one year on fanfiction. In celebration, I am updating as many of my stories as I can. I completed a chapter for this one, and I'm almost done with Storm Rising's chapter.**

**kamblamstar- It wasn't Zoe's choice who came. It was Bianca's quest and Zoe volunteered for it. When she heard Jackson was coming, she didn't like it, but taking any other siblings would probably mean that one would be a male.**

**Ceberus01- Today.**

**HADES SHOULD BE KING- the seven as you refer to, aren't really a thing anymore now that Annabeth abandoned Percy and Percy went to the Void. I have already chosen the spy and can't change it.**

**FluffyJS21- Jillian has a role later. She will not be going on the quest so it is natural she did less this chapter.**

_**Previously at Hoover Dam,**_

_**Two men walking slowly toward them from the edge of the dam. They wore gray camouflage outfits that flickered over skeletal bodies. On the west side of the dam, a black van swerved to a stop in the middle of the road, nearly plowing into some old people. The van doors opened and more skeleton warriors piled out. They were surrounded.**_

Jackson silently cursed himself. How could he have been so stupid to let the monsters get close? Why had they even stopped here?

"We need to get off the top of the dam now," Jackson ordered. "We'll be sitting ducks up here."

Annabeth led the group to the stairs going down to inside the dam. The first thing they arrived in of course, was the dam snack bar. The cafe was packed with kids enjoying french fries, burritos, slushies, and sodas. The elevator that must have went down into the turbines and the visitor's center opened with a pleasant ding. Four skeletal warriors stepped out. Two more ran down the stairs we had just descended. All of them were armed with batons and pistols.

Then Thalia had a brilliant idea. "Food fight!" She yelled, grabbing a kid's burrito and flinging it at a skeletal warrior. Bianca caught onto the idea and threw a grape soda at another. The sparta held out it's baton to avoid being hit with the can and ended up puncturing it. Purple liquid spewed out, drenching the sparta and the nearest kids in a sticky liquid. The other kids went completely nuts and started throwing their burritos and baskets of chips and sodas at each other, shrieking and screaming. The skeletons tried to aim their guns, but it was hopeless. Bodies and food and drinks were flying everywhere.

"Zoe, get them outside and try to find transportation out of here!" Jackson yelled to her. The daughter of Atlas grabbed Thalia and Annabeth, dragging them outside. "Bianca, help me kill these guys!"

"How the heck I am supposed to do that?" Bianca yelled back, drawing her stygian iron knife.

"I don't know!" Jackson swung his axe through the arm, chopping two skeletons in half. As soon as the Chaotic steele made contact with the bones, the sparta burst into flames. Bianca engaged one of the sparta, baton versus knife. She stepped in and stabbed the sternum of the skeleton, exploding him into fire. A bullet bounced harmlessly off of her nemean lion fleece. Soon, the six skeletons in the snack bar were defeated, though they were hardly out of the woods yet. There were still six more sparta outside, closing in on their friends without weapons that could kill them.

"Come on!" Jackson called. They raced out of the dam, dodging burritos and chips.

Outside, the remaining skeletons had backed the three girls into the pavilion with the bronze statues, their backs to the mountain. The skeletons moved forward, forming a crescent around them. Zoe had her bow pointed at one of the skeletons with an arrow noched. Annabeth had her dagger out in front of her protectively. After a moment, Jackson realized that the two were guarding Thalia. The daughter of Zeus wasn't injured, but instead staring up at the huge bronze statue, her mouth moving silently. Of course! The statues were dedicated to Zeus! Zoe or Annabeth must have convinced her to try praying to her father again.

Three of the skeletons fired their guns while the other three wielded their batons menacingly. Jackson threw his axe, but it would be too late.

Just before the bullets could hit the three girls, a flash of bronze blinded them momentarily. The six skeletons was thrown backwards, Jackson's axe passing over their bones until it returned to his hand. The bronze angels stepped in front of Zoe, Annabeth, and Thalia, folding their wings like shields. Bullets pinged off of them like rain off a corrugated roof. Both angels slashed outward, and the skeletons went flying across the road.

"Man, it feels good to stand up!" the first angel said. His voice sounded tinny and rusty, like he hadn't had a drink since he'd been built.

"Will ya look at my toes?" the other said. "Holy Zeus, what were those tourists thinking?"

Bianca and Jackson stood there, too momentarily stunned to do anything. On the other side of the road, the skeletons stood up and loaded their guns again.

"Trouble!" Annabeth said.

"Get us out of here!" Thalia yelled.

Both angels looked down at her. "Zeus's kid?"

"Yes!" Thalia said impatiently.

"Could I get a _please_, Miss Zeus's Kid?" An angel asked.

"Please!"

The angels looked at each other and shrugged. "Could use a stretch," One decided, scooping up Annabeth and Thalia. The other angel grabbed Zoe.

"Wait!" Annabeth said. "Those are our friends too."

The angel holding her blocked the gunfire while his buddy ran over and picked the two of them up. They flew straight up, over the dam and the river. The skeleton warriors shrinking to tiny specks below them while something orange jumped on them. Jackson shrugged it off as the sound of gunfire echoed off the sides of the mountains.

"Tell me when it's over," Thalia said. Her eyes were shut so tight, Jackson could see it from the other angel. The statues were holding on to them so they couldn't fall, but still Thalia clutched his arm like it was the most important thing in the world.

"Everything's fine," Annabeth reassured her.

"Are… are we very high?"

Jackson looked down. A range of snowy mountains zipped by. Annabeth stretched out her foot and kicked snow off one of the peaks.

"Nah," She said. "Not that high."

"We are in the Sierras," Zoe called over the rushing sound of the wind. Zoe, Bianca, and Jackson hung from the arms of the statue. "I have hunted here before. At this speed, we should be in San Francisco in a few hours."

"Hey, hey, Frisco!" Annabeth's and Thalia's angel said. "Yo, Chuck! We could visit those guys at the Mechanics Monument again! They know how to party!"

"Oh, man," The other angel said. "I am _so_ there!"

"You guys have visited San Francisco?" Bianca asked.

"We automatons gotta have some fun once in a while, right?" The statue said. "Those mechanics took us over to the de Young Museum and introduced us to these marble lady statues, see. And—"

"Hank!" the other statue Chuck cut in. "They're kids, man."

"Oh, right," Hank looked like he blushed. "Back to flying."

The angels got excited and started to speed up. The mountains fell away into hills, and then they were soaring over farmlands. Zoe got bored and started shooting arrows at random billboards as they flew by. Every time she saw a Target department store she would peg the store's sign with a few bulls-eyes at a hundred miles an hour. Thalia kept her eyes closed the whole way, her lips moving in a silent prayer. Jackson spent the whole time mulling over the quest's prophecy and what it would mean for their success. Six people had left camp to rescue Nico and Artemis. Imogene was taken in the desert. The next two lines referred to who would go on the quest and them being chased by the sparta. The ophiotaurus had yet to make an appearance, but Jackson guessed it would appear when they got closer to Mount Othrys. The crap about the hunter and campers combining was unimportant. However, the titan's curse must one with stand was worrisome. Nico had been holding the sky for several days now. Add in the line about a fate decided by the family hand, it was not going to be good.

"Bianca, we're here," Jackson shook the daughter of Hades up from her nap.

"Where you guys want to land?" Hank asked.

"Whoa," Bianca said, taking in the scene before us.

The city looked clean from this distance, but not anywhere near anything in the Void. Ringed by green hills like a necklace, fog draped over the city like a cloak. There was a huge bay and ships, islands and sailboats, and the Golden Gate Bridge sticking up out of the fog. Jackson wanted to take a photo and send it as a postcard to his siblings._Greetings from Frisco. Haven't Died Yet. Wish You Were Here_.

"There," Zoe suggested. "By the Embarcadero Building."

"Good thinking," Chuck said. "Me and Hank can blend in with the pigeons."

Everyone looked at him.

"Kidding," he said. "Sheesh, can't statues have a sense of humor?"

As it turned out, there wasn't much need to blend in. It was early morning and not many people were around. A homeless guy completely freaked out when the angels landed on the ferry dock. He screamed when he saw Hank and Chuck and ran off yelling something about metal angels from Mars. The angels flew off to party with their statue friends after saying good bye.

Some of the fog shimmered in front of us into a misty rainbow. A familiar auburn haired girl with sea green eyes appeared in the iris message.

"Hey, Jillian," Thalia said.

"Hi, Thalia. Is Annabeth here? I need to ask her something."

Annabeth stepped into the view of the rainbow. "Right here. What did you need to ask me?"

Jillian fiddled with her water droplet pendant. "So this morning, I was flying Blackjack over the ocean, the pegasus we rescued from the Princess Andromeda," Jillian added at Zoe, Bianca, and his confused looks. "The hippocampi surfaced and said they needed my help because a sea creature was trapped. I swam down there to find a baby cow serpent trapped in a fishing net. Even after I freed Bessie, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I asked your siblings, but none of them had read about it. Chiron has been busy all day breaking up a fight between the hunters and campers. Malcolm suggested I contact you."

Crossing her arm, Annabeth taps her finger to her chin. Zoe's eyes widen at the story. "I don't remember reading anything about a cow serpent-"

"Thank thee, Jillian! We have to go retrieve the monster!" Zoe exclaimed.

"Wait!" Jillian began, but Zoe had already swiped her hand through the message.

"What was that for?" Annabeth turned on Zoe.

"We know the monster. All we have to do is get Nereus to tell us where it is," Zoe explained. "The ophiotaurus was a sea creature with the head of a cow and the tail of a serpent."

"But if this cow thingie is even the monster Artemis was hunting, why would it matter where it is? Jillian saw it in the Atlantic Ocean this morning. How would it get all the way to the West Coast in less than twelve hours?" Annabeth asked, huffing.

"It will come to Thalia," Jackson said. Technically, it would respond first to Bianca since she was the prophecy child, but it had a connection to all children of the big three and he didn't want to reveal Bianca's heritage. "It can transport from body of water to body of water if it is summoned."

"Then we don't even need to consult Nereus," Bianca reasoned. "All we have to do is get near the ocean and have Thalia summon it."

"Come on!" Zoe took off down the streets, stepping around tourist item carts and food vendors. The rest of them followed her around corners, through alleys, and along a sunny boardwalk.

As they jog towards the end of the pier, Jackson spots a flash of an orange striped paw among the row of hedges lining the boardwalk. A furry tail swishes in the dirt. Then a little, meow.

"You guys go ahead. I have to check something out," Jackson said.

Zoe nodded. "We'll be there," She pointed to the approaching end of the pier. Jackson stepped onto the sidewalk cutting through the hedges before kneeling down. A pair of yellow olive eyes peered at him from under the bush. Then another, and another, until twelve sets of eyes were looking at him. All at once, they emerged from under the hedge.

Each cat look like a cross between a saber tooth cat and a tiger. Their markings and colors were that of an orange and black tiger, but the ears were more back like a saber tooth cat. Though had been much smaller when he had last seen them, Jackson recognized the kittens from the Museum of Natural History, where the mortal working for the General had accidentally planted the wrong teeth.

When they had popped out of the soil, the felines had been about the size of four month old kittens. Now, just a few days later, they were much larger than the size of a regular cat. Jackson dug around in his backpack until he found a packet of beef jerky. Placing a piece on his palm, he offered it out to the nearest cat. Cautiously, the kitten nibbled on it before snatching it up. Giving each cat a small piece, Jackson sat back on his heels.

"Why are you following me?" Jackson mused out loud, not expecting the kittens to answer.

_We follow the one carrying the gifts of the creator, _A voice reverberated around in his head. Stunned, Jackson fell backward.

"Did you just talk?"

_Yes, _Several voices replied.

"Umm, so who is this creator and why can I understand you?"

_The creator is the one who made this earth and our parents, _One cat stated.

_You can understand us because you are related to the great creator, _Another added.

"Oh, you mean, Chaos," Jackson put the pieces together.

_Yes, the great creator of all. What do you want us to do?_

"Follow us, but stay hidden. Alert me if there are any monsters around. Can you do that?"

_Of course._

"I have to catch up with my friends, but here," He dropped a bag of beef jerky. The cats excitedly ate the meat as Jackson headed down the pier.

Thalia sat on the edge of the dock as the ophiotaurus swam around before butting his hand against Bianca's hand. The front half was a calf—a baby, with black fur and big, sad brown eyes and a white muzzle—and its back half was a black-and-brown snaky tail with fins running down the top and bottom, like an enormous eel.

"MOOOOOOOO!" The serpent, Bessie, Jillian had called it, lifted his head. Jackson's eyes widened as he translated the old animal speech. The Last Children had been taught several languages, along with a few words of old animal speech, but Jackson wasn't as adapt at the language as his siblings, the children of Gaia, were. Having the creator of all fish as a step dad helped to understand it though.

"He says he's running from the bad people. He says they are close," Jackson said.

"How did you know that?" Annabeth eyed him suspiciously.

Mentally slapping himself, Jackson wondered how stupid he could have been for that slip up. "Well, he is obviously scared from the wide look in his eyes," Jackson began, not really sure where this was going.

Thankfully, Zoe saw the pickle he was in. "I am a fool," Zoe said suddenly. "I know this story! We could have known who the monster was sooner."

"What story?" Bianca questioned.

"From the War of the Titans," she said. "My… my father told me this tale, thousands of years ago. This is the beast we are looking for."

Bianca looked at the swimming Ophiotaurus. "But… he's too cute. He couldn't destroy the world."

"That is how we were wrong," Zoe said. "We've been anticipating a huge dangerous monster, but the Ophiotaurus does not bring down the gods that way. He must be sacrificed."

"MMMM," He lowed.

"How could anyone hurt him?" Thalia scratched his ears. "He's harmless."

Jackson nodded. "But there is power in killing innocence. Terrible power. The Fates ordained a prophecy eons ago, when this creature was born. They said that whoever killed the Ophiotaurus and sacrificed its entrails to fire would have the power to destroy the gods."

"MMMMMM!" He obviously did not like the words sacrifice or entrails.

Thalia stared at the cow serpent with wonder. "The power to destroy the gods… how? I mean, what would happen?"

"No one knows," Zoe said. "The first time, during the Titan war, the Ophiotaurus was in fact slain by a giant ally of the Titans, but thy father, Zeus, sent an eagle to snatch the entrails away before they could be tossed into the fire. It was a close call. Now, after three thousand years, the Ophiotaurus is reborn."

Thalia sat down on the dock. She stretched out her hand. Bessie reluctantly from Bianca to her. Thalia placed her hand on his head. Bessie shivered. Thalia's expression bothered him. She almost looked… hungry.

"We have to protect him," Annabeth told her. "If Luke gets hold of him—"

"Luke wouldn't hesitate," Thalia muttered. "The power to overthrow Olympus. That's… that's huge."

"Yes, it is, my dear," Said a man's voice in a heavy French accent. "And it is a power _you_ shall unleash."

Jackson tensed. He had been so busy trying to keep Bianca's secret hidden that he had ignored the tiger cats' warnings and his instincts. Standing behind them, his two-color eyes gleaming wickedly, was Dr. Thorn, the manticore Ophiotaurus made a whimpering sound and submerged. Summoning a small whirlpool, Jackson swept it out farther to sea.

"This is just perrrr-fect," The manticore gloated.

He was wearing a ratty black trench coat over his Westover Hall uniform, which was torn and stained. His military haircut had grown out spiky and greasy. He hadn't shaved recently, so his face was covered in silver stubble.

"Long ago, the gods banished me to Persia," The manticore said. "I was forced to scrounge for food on the edges of the world, hiding in forests, devouring insignificant human farmers for my meals. I never got to fight any great heroes. I was not feared and admired in the old stories! But now that will change. The Titans shall honor me, and I shall feast on the flesh of half-bloods!"

On either side of him stood two armed security guys, some of the mortal mercenaries from the Natural History Museum with the General in D.C. Two more stood on the next boat dock over, just in case escape was possible that way. There were tourists all around—walking down the waterfront, shopping at the pier above them, but they would only impede the demigod's battle.

"Where… where are the skeletons?" Annabeth asked the manticore.

He sneered. "I do not need those foolish undead! The General thinks I am worthless? He will change his mind when I defeat you myself!"

"We beat you once before," Thalia said.

"Ha! You could barely fight me with a goddess on your side. And, alas… that goddess is preoccupied at the moment. There will be no help for you now."

Jackson pulled out his axe. "But now you don't have your backup helicopters. So we're even."

"I would hate to kill you before Thalia's great victory," The manticore mused.

"Great victory?" Thalia asked.

"Surely it is clear," the manticore said. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. You will overthrow Olympus."

"Spare the daughter of Zeus. She will join us soon enough. Kill the others," The manticore instructed his guards.

Zoe notched an arrow and aimed it straight at a guard's head. The guards raised their guns. Jackson charged the manticore while Zoe fired fart arrows at the guards to cause confusion. Tourists screamed as the guards shot blindly into the air. Annabeth and Thalia tried to join him in fighting.

"Back off!" He snarled at the two of them. "Thorn is mine. We have a score to settle."

"Yes, Jackson Last, did it start when I took that little boy over the cliff?" Thorn taunted. "Or was it when we kidnapped your sister?"

Jackson left forward, slashing a wide arc at the beast. Thorn roared as the axe blade pierced his skin. Swiping back, he was blocked by Jackson's axe. As the son of Thalassa pushed the manticore back, he summoned the power of the sea up through the boards of the pier. Ropes made of water wrapped the paws of the manticore. With a flick of his wrist, the water froze, holding the manticore down. Dr. Thorn tried to fire missiles at him, but Jackson sliced them all neatly in half. His axe made a satisfying _thwack! _as the blade chopped off the monster's head. The body disintegrated until only a spiky cross bow was left. A black and silver emblem gleamed on the bow before both disappeared. Chaos had it now.

The four girls had each incapacitated a mortal guard. Zoe blunt arrows at their heads, leaving nasty bruises. Thalia shocked hers until he was unconscious. Bianca and Annabeth catapulted the remaining two out to sea.

"What now?" Bianca said after they had dumped the remaining guard's weapons into a nearby trash can.

"We keep the Ophiotaurus safe," Annabeth said.

"But we must get there by sunset," Zoe said.

"Get where?" Thalia asked.

Zoe's face was the color of the fog. She pointed across the bay, past the Golden Gate. In the distance, a single mountain rose up above the cloud layer. "The garden of my sisters," she said. "I must go home."

"The only time to enter the garden is at sunset," Jackson explained.

"Why?" Bianca looked a little confused.

"The Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," Jackson said. "We can only enter their garden as day changes to night."

"But what of the Ophiotaurus?" Zoe asked. "We must protect it.

Bianca stared at the Ophiotaurus. "That thingie that Jillian used to contact us-"

"An iris message," Annabeth corrected.

"Yeah, that, can we send one to her?"

Jackson pulled a golden drachma from his bag. Slicing off the water fountain nearby, he willed it to turn into mist. He didn't want to reveal his powers yet. Even though he had showed powers over water fighting Thorn, the others were too busy to see. "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept this offering and show us Jillian, daughter of Poseidon, most likely at Camp Half Blood."

The mist shimmered until two people in bronze armor fighting in an arena appeared. The one had long auburn hair and was wielding a familiar blue blade. Curly black hair poked out from under the other fighters helmet. The boy swung a hammer at the girl.

"Jillian! Leo!" Annabeth called.

The fighters turned around, tugging off their helmets. "Hey, what is it?" Jillian asked.

"I need you to go to the ocean and summon the ophiotaurus," Bianca instructed.

"The loafy rust?" The latino boy, Leo, asked.

Annabeth sighed, like they went through this a lot. "The ophiotaurus, named Bessie by Jillian, was a half bull half serpent sea creature. It has the power to travel between bodies of water. That it why we need you to go to the ocean and summon it."

"And you're saying it will just come to me?" Jillian sounded incredulous.

"If you think hard enough about it, it should," Jackson commented.

"Then what do we do with it once it comes here?" Jillian asked. "Wait Leo, do you have any of those water proof fences?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah, Beckendorf and I made a few a last week."

"I don't even want to why you guys made water proof fences," Thalia put her hand on her forehead.

Grinning wildly, Leo tugged on Jillians arm. "Come on, Beck will help us set them up."

The mist dissolved as Jillian swiped her hand across it. Jackson knelt down on the pier. "Go to Long Island, Bessie. Go back to Jillian," In his head, he was mentally telling the serpent to go in the language of fish. With a small pop, Bessie disappeared from the glittering green ocean.

"I guess it worked," Thalia shrugged. They began jogged along the waterfront. The shopping center pier where they had fought the manticore and mortals was far behind. Their direction was the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was a lot farther than it seemed. The sun was already dipping in the west.

"We need a car," Thalia said.

"Thalia's right," Bianca said. "We do need a car. But there's nobody to help us here. Unless we, uh, borrowed one."

"Wait," Annabeth said. She started rifling through her backpack. "There _is_ somebody in San Francisco who can help us. I've got the address here somewhere. I can never remember it."

"Who?" Zoe asked.

Annabeth pulled out a neatly folded piece of notebook paper and held it up. "My dad, Professor Chase."

The daughter of Athena led us down a few nice streets until we reached a nice sized tan house surrounded by a green lawn. Annabeth hesitated a bit at the front door. Jackson took the opportunity.

"I'm not one to deny the fact that we need transportation, but if this is a trap, I swear to all the gods..." He let the threat hang.

"Why would it be a trap?" Annabeth's eyes narrowed.

"Because, remember, you talked with the enemy and you weren't watchful enough to protect my sister on your watch," He reminded her, his voice cold.

"I told you that-"

"Annabeth," Thalia cut in. "Just swear it on the Styx. We are wasting time."

"Fine. I swear on the river Styx this is not a trick. Happy?" She promised as thunder boomed overhead. He nodded and she rang the door bell.

A man wearing an old-fashioned aviator's cap and goggles. He looked so weird, with his eyes bugging out through the glasses, that the five all took a step back on the front porch.

"Hello," He said in a friendly voice, not noticing Annabeth who had hidden behind Thalia. "Are you delivering my airplanes?"

"Um, no, sir," Zoe said.

"Drat," he said. "I need three more Sopwith Camels."

"Dad?" Annabeth said, finally stepping out from behind Thalia.

"Annabeth," Dr. Chase stepped forward and wrapped his arm around her. "It's so good to see you. Come inside, we have much to talk about."

Ducking back under her father's arm, she stood a little bit away from him, clearly uncomfortable with the hug. "I would love to, but we have a serious deadline that we have to make."

Annabeth's dad pulled off his hat and goggles. He had sandy-colored hair like Annabeth and intense brown eyes. It looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days, and his shirt was buttoned wrong, so one side of his collar stuck up higher than the other side.

"You'd better come in," he said.

There were LEGO robots on the stairs and two cats sleeping on the sofa in the living room. The coffee table was stacked with magazines, and a little kid's winter coat was spread on the floor. The whole house smelled like fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies. There was jazz music coming from the kitchen. It seemed like a messy, happy kind of home—the kind of place that had been lived in forever.

"Dad!" A little boy screamed. "He's taking apart my robots!"

"Bobby," Dr. Chase called absently. "Don't take apart your brother's robots."

"_I'm_ Bobby," the little boy protested. "He's Matthew!"

"Matthew," Dr. Chase called, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"

"Okay, Dad!"

Dr. Chase turned to us. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way."

"Honey?" A woman called. Annabeth's stepmom appeared in the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She was a pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun.

"Who are our guests?" She asked.

"Oh," Dr. Chase said. "Annabeth brought..."

He stared at us blankly.

"Frederick," She chided. "You forgot to ask them their names?"

They introduced themselves a little uneasily, but Mrs. Chase said she'd bring some cookies and sandwiches and sodas up to the study. She smiled as they ascended the stairs. "Nice meeting you, Thalia. I've heard a lot about you."

Upstairs, the quest members walked into Dr. Chase's study and Bianca let out a, "Whoa!"

The room was wall-to-wall books. There was a huge table with miniature tanks and soldiers fighting along a blue painted river, with hills and fake trees and stuff. Old-fashioned biplanes hung on strings from the ceiling, tilted at crazy angles like they were in the middle of a dogfight.

Dr. Chase smiled. "Yes, the Third Battle of Ypres. I'm writing a paper, you see, on the use of Sopwith Camels to strafe enemy lines. I believe they played a much greater role than they've been given credit for."

He plucked a biplane from its string and swept it across the battlefield, making airplane engine noises as he knocked down little German soldiers.

Zoe came over and studied the battlefield. "The German lines were farther from the river."

Dr. Chase stared at her. "How do you know that?"

"I was there," she said matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war was, the way mortal men fight each other. And how foolish, too. The battle was a complete waste."

Dr. Chase opened his mouth in shock. "You—"

"She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia said. Dr. Chase's eyes widened.

"Dad," Annabeth said, a bit harshly. "We need to hurry.

"You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr. Chase said, ignoring her. "How many were there? What formations did they fly?"

"Sir," Jackson broke in. "My sister and Bianca's brother are in danger. If we don't rescue them by tomorrow, they die.

That got his attention. He set the biplane down.

"Of course," he said. "Tell me everything."

It wasn't easy, but the group tried their best.. Meanwhile, the afternoon light was fading outside. Time was ticking. As they finished, Dr. Chase collapsed in his leather recliner. He laced his hands. "You travelled so far."

"Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais," Zoe said. "And we need it immediately."

"I'll drive you. Hmm. it would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seats two."

"Whoa, you have an actual biplane?" Bianca said.

"Down at Crissy Field," Dr. Chase said proudly. "That's the reason I had to move here. My sponsor is a private collector with some of the finest World War I relics in the world. He let me restore the Sopwith Camel—"

"Dad," Annabeth interrupted. "Just a car would be great. And it might be better if we went without you. It's too dangerous."

Dr. Chase frowned uncomfortably. "Now wait a minute, Annabeth."

"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced. She pushed through the door with a tray full of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and Cokes and cookies fresh out of the oven, the chocolate chips still gooey. Thalia, Bianca, and Jackson inhaled a few cookies while Zoe said, "I can drive, sir. I'm not as young as I look. I promise not to destroy your car."

Mrs. Chase knit her eyebrows. "What's this about?"

"Jackson's sister and Bianca's brother are in danger," Dr. Chase said. "On Mount Tam. I would drive them, but… apparently it's no place for mortals."

Mrs. Chase nodded. "Then they'd better get going."

"Right!" Dr. Chase jumped up and started patting his pockets. "My keys…"

His wife sighed. "Frederick, honestly. You'd lose your head if it weren't wrapped inside your aviator hat. The keys are hanging on the peg by the front door."

"Right!" Dr. Chase said.

Zoe grabbed a sandwich. "Thank you both. We should go. _Now."_

We hustled out the door and down the stairs, the Chases right behind us. Running out to the yellow VW convertible parked in the driveway, Dr. Chase unlocked it before handing the keys to Zoe.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Thalia demanded.

Zoe glared at her. "I cannot control traffic."

"You both sound like Jillian's mother," Annabeth replied.

"Shut up!" They said in unison.

Zoe weaved in and out of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was sinking on the horizon when they finally got into Marin County and exited the highway. The roads were insanely narrow, winding through forests and up the sides of hills and around the edges of steep ravines. Zoe didn't slow down at all.

"Why does everything smell like cough drops?" Thalia asked.

"Eucalyptus." Zoe pointed to the huge trees all around us.

"The stuff koala bears eat?"

"And monsters," she said. "They love chewing the leaves. Especially dragons."

"Dragons chew eucalyptus leaves?"

"Believe me," Zoe said, "if you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus too."

Ahead on the road. loomed Mount Tamalpais. It was a small one, but it looked plenty huge as the car sped towards it.

"So that's the Mountain of Despair?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes," Zoe said tightly.

"Why do they call it that?"

She was silent for almost a mile before answering. "After the war between the Titans and the gods, many of the Titans were punished and imprisoned. Kronos was sliced to pieces and thrown into Tartarus. Kronos's right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned up there, on the summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."

"The General," Annabeth said. Clouds seemed to be swirling around its peak, as though the mountain was drawing them in, spinning them like a top. "What's going on up there? A storm?"

Zoe didn't answer. But Jackson knew beneath those clouds, Nico was struggling under the sky. Artemis was in chains and Fern was stolen. They had to hurry.

"We have to concentrate," Jackson said. "The Mist is really strong here."

"The magical kind or the natural kind?" Thalia asked.

"Both."

The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and Zoe kept driving straight toward them. The forest was behind them now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks and fog.

"Look!" But the car turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills.

"What?" Thalia asked.

"A big white ship," Annabeth said. "Docked near the beach. It looked like a cruise ship."

Her electric blue eyes widened. "Luke's ship?"

Annabeth nodded. "That's what Tyson was telling Jillian! The Princess Andromeda went to Panama so it could access the Canal, the fastest water way from coast to coast."

"We will have company, then," Zoe said grimly. "Kronos's army."

_Great, _Jackson thought. _Atlas was sure to be there along with a handful of monsters acting as the Vanguard, but now a demon infested cruise ship? _He tensed, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

Thalia shouted, "Stop the car. NOW!"

Zoe must've sensed something was wrong, because she slammed on the brakes without question. The yellow VW spun twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff.

"Out!" Thalia opened the door, rolling onto the pavement. The next second: _BOOOM_!

Lightning flashed, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade. Jackson erected a force field over him and Bianca while Thalia shielded herself and Annabeth with Aegis. They were surrounded by wreckage. Part of the VW's fender had impaled itself in the street. The smoking hood was spinning in circles. Pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road.

Annabeth helped a cursing Thalia up. "_One shall perish by a parent's hand." _She muttered. "Curse him. He would destroy me? _Me_?"

She thought the line referred to her. There was no way he could tell her that it was Zoe. That just wouldn't work.

Jackson sensed Zoe moving in the fog nearby. He stepped in beside her and touched her shoulder. "Zoe, step out of the fog before they start yelling your name. No sense waking Ladon earlier than we have to."

The two step out of the fog next to Bianca. Pulling Bianca to her feet, Zoe beckons to a bickering Thalia and Annabeth. "Silence, fools! Do you want to wake Ladon?"

"You mean we're here?" Thalia looks around.

"Very close," She said. "Follow me."

Sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. Zoe stopped and looked at Jackson. "Does thee know the way too?"

He nodded. "I'll go and you can bring up the rear," Jackson stepped into the drifting sheets of fog. The milky white stuff swirled around him. He could faintly hear Zoe advising the others to concentrate on him and go straight through the fog.

When the fog cleared, he was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. The grass was thicker. The sunset made a blood red slash across the sea. The summit of the mountain seemed closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. The main path to the top was directly ahead, but a smaller side path branched off. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight, just like in the dream.

If it hadn't been for the enormous dragon, the garden of the hesperides would've been the most beautiful place on earth. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble led around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples. Their fragrance was overwhelming. Bianca inhaled deeply.

"That's smells amazing," She commented.

"The apples of immortality," Annabeth said. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."

Zoe looked sad as she watched Ladon the dragon sleep. The serpent's body was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales. He had a hundred heads exactly as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused together. He appeared to be asleep. The heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound on the grass, all the eyes closed.

Then the shadows in front of us began to move. There was a beautiful, eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. They had to react fast.

"Thalia, Bianca, Annabeth, take the that side path up the hill. Keep as far away from the tree as you can. Wait for us at the top of the rise! Hurry!" Jackson instructed.

Bianca sensed the urgency in his voice. She grabbed the other girls and ran off towards the path, away from the tree as four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like Zoe. They all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel. Silky black hair tumbled loose around their shoulders. They looked just like Zoe—gorgeous, and probably very dangerous.

"Sisters," Zoe said.

"We do not see any sister," One of the girls said coldly. "We see one halfblood and a Hunter. But where are the other three who entered the fog?"

"No matter," Another sister said. "All of them will die anyways."

"That it where I believe you are wrong," Jackson stood beside Zoe. The girls studied him with their volcanic rock, glassy and completely black. One of the sister, the second youngest maybe, looked a little sad.

"Who is this?" The oldest asked. "Another hero? Just like the handsome strong one you brought last time?"

"Erytheia," Zoe growled.

Another sister, the youngest, laughed a bit of a harsh laugh. "I remember now, his name was Heracles. The one our sister willing left the garden for, and lost her immortality for, only to be abandoned," The sisters wore matching smirks, but the second youngest one, Aegle if Jackson remembered correctly, looked reluctant.

"I didn't give up my immortality, Arethusa!" Zoe shot back. "After I helped him, father had me thrown from the garden! My immortality was stripped away."

The sisters' eyes widen in shock. Recognition dawned on their faces like the sun over earth. "Goodbye, sisters," Zoe said, her voice still cold. With that she began walking silently with the gait of a trained hunter over the grass. Jackson gave the hesperides on last glance before following her up the mountain.

Just as they were almost out of Ladon's reach, something went terribly wrong. The winds had shifted ever so slightly, blowing their scent right into the nearby head of Ladon. The dragon sniffed deeply before green eyelids slid back to reveal its orange eyes with black slitted pupils. The narrowed shapes of the pupil narrowed further and the head darted out to strike Zoe.

"Zoe!" Jackson called, but it was too late.

Only years of being in the hunt kept Zoe alive. She twisted away from the dragon but Ladon still managed to sink his teeth into her side. Her face contorted in agony as she tried to run away. All of Ladon's heads were awake now, swarming above Zoe.

Then Jackson did a really stupid thing. It wasn't the stupidest he had ever done, but it was right up there with shooting Eros in the butt when he was three and tackling a full grown gorilla when he was five. He drew his axe and charged Ladon, giving Zoe time to get dragon dodged the blade, but a head was sliced off. Ladon reared back when the Chaotic steele and Oceanic steele mix touched his skin. Jackson took the chance and ran, pulling along struggling Zoe as he ran toward the top of the hill where Bianca, Thalia, and Annabeth stood. The dragon didn't try to pursue. He hissed and stomped the ground, but he was well trained to guard that tree. He wasn't going to be lured off even by the tasty prospect of eating some heroes.

Once they had reached the path that showed a scenic view of the garden, the two stopped, panting for air. The Hesperides resumed their song in the shadows of the garden.

"What happened?" Annabeth asked.

"We met a dragon with really bad breath," Jackson said before turning to Zoe. "Are you okay?"

She waved him off. "We need to keep moving. Time is running out."

Realizing that Zoe wouldn't want to stop, the group continued up the hill. At the top of mountain were ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd been half melted.

"The ruins of Mount Othrys," Annabeth whispered in awe.

"Yes," Zoe said. "It was not here before. This is bad."

"What's Mount Othrys?" Thalia sounded confused.

"The mountain fortress of the Titans," Jackson said. "In the first war, Olympus and Othrys were the two rival capitals of the world."

"Othrys was—" Zoe winced and held her side.

"You're hurt," Jackson said. "Let me see."

"No! It is nothing. I was saying… in the first war, Othrys was blasted to pieces."

"But… how is it here?"

Thalia looked around cautiously as we picked our way through the rubble, past blocks of marble and broken arch ways. "It moves in the same way that Olympus moves. It always exists on the edges of civilization. But the fact that it is here, on _this_ mountain, is not good," Jackson added.

"Why?"

"This is Atlas's mountain," Zoe said. "Where he holds—" She froze. Her voice was ragged with despair. "Where he used to hold up the sky."

They had reached the summit. A few yards ahead of us, gray clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old girl with black hair and a thirteen year old boy with pale skin. Nico looked ready to drop, but he was barely holding on. Fern, even with all of her training, was fading with the weight of holding the world. Artemis was no where in sight.

"Nico!" Bianca cried and tried to rush forward, though Jackson held her back. "What are you doing?" She hissed. "I need to go save my brother!"

"I know, believe me. My sister is there too. But we need a game plan," Jackson said.

"Atlas will be there," Zoe said, her voice strained. "But we need to find Artemis."

"Luke will be fighting too. Not to mention all the monsters," Thalia added. "We can't make a plan with such little information."

"You're right. Screw this. Let's just do it," Jackson replied.

The group ran forward to where Fern and Nico were drenched in sweat. A booming voice spoke behind us: "Ah, how touching."

Everyone turned. The General was standing there in his brown silk suit. At his side were Luke and half a dozen dracaenae bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. Artemis was unconscious at Luke's side, bound in heavy celestial bronze chains, special for restricting power.

"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let her go."

Luke's smile was weak and pale. He looked even worse than he had three days ago in D.C. "That is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again."

Thalia spat at him.

Atlas chuckled. "So much for old friends, dear nephew."

"Cousin?" Annabeth looked between Atlas and Luke.

"Yes, Annabeth, my mother wasn't a clear sighted mortal. She was a daughter of Koios, titan of the north, intellect, and foresight."

Annabeth's mouth drops open as she stares at Luke, but Atlas speaks first. "And you, Zoe. It's been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."

"We won't let you hurt her," Thalia said, summoning Aegis.

The General sneered. "As if you could defeat the great Atlas, the general of the Titans and terror of the gods. But alas, you have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family matter."

Thalia frowned. "A family matter?"

"Yes," Zoe said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."

Jackson looked around at the scene. Nico and Fern wouldn't last much longer under the sky. Artemis wouldn't be any help unconscious. The dracena and Luke would have to be restrained for long enough. Suddenly it clicked.

"We're all family, Atlas," Jackson drew his axe. "I challenge you."

**How was it? I hoped you enjoyed it.**

**Could we try to get to a hundred reviews with this chapter? Also I would really appreciate it if you voted on the poll on my profile about your favorite character in this story. I would like to know what you think.**

**Remember to review! And check out the updated Storm Rising!**

**Thanks!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	12. Fight on Mount Othrys

**WOW, thanks for the great response to last chapter!**

**100th reviewer: Olympus97**

**Review Responses**

**Olympus97- Wow, thanks! When I first started the first edition of this story, I didn't include Percy in the Last. That was a mistake. Pure OC stories don't get much attention, but if you can mix a few OC's in with the canon, it works out well. (::) (;;) (because you were the 100 reviewer!)**

**kablamstar- The prophecy the Oracle gave Bianca was, 'One's fate shall be decided by a family hand.'**

**Willakarra- Hehe, I'm a troll.**

**Guest- I can sense your excitement in your review. :)**

**GreyWolf- I'm really sorry about your aunt.**

**So wait- Does it really matter?**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners.**

**Nico's POV**

He didn't know what had come over him when he had rushed the manticore trying to take Fern. He only knew that he had to stop the monster from getting her. What was he thinking? He didn't even know how to use the sword Jackson had lent him! But somehow he had managed to distract Thorn, stab him with the sword, all before the girls in silver, the hunters he thinks, shot Thorn. Then there was Thorn dragging him off the cliff.

The world was dark and black. Normally Nico liked the dark color, but he was beginning to loathe the fact he didn't know where he was. Finally when he came around, he found himself at the base of a dark hillside shrouded in fog. With nowhere else to go, he began to climb upwards, struggling over broken pieces of black marble. Finally he crested the hill, scrambling over section of a wall.

What he saw shocked him. Bianca stood, struggling with a swirling mass of rock. Sweat poured off her face and she was breathing heavily. That didn't make sense. His sister was with Fern and Jackson. Nico had seen those two fight, he was sure they could keep Bianca safe. Unless those people who came to the school or the girls in silver brought her here.

"Nico!" Bianca called weakly. "Help me! Please!"

He hesitated. Call him a bad sibling or whatever, but something was off. It didn't feel right. Then the darkness above Bianca began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Despite any precautions about the situation, Nico rushed forward as huge chunks of black rock began falling. Odd or not, she was his sister and he wasn't going to let her die.

A massive weight, the ceiling dropped on his hands. He held it somehow even though he didn't know where the strength was coming from. Pain flared in every muscle in his body.

Bianca rolled free, gasping. Her face began to change until a woman appeared with flaming hair and malicious eyes, just like Kelli at Westover. "Good, little demigod. You will have to do until the second package gets here."

She walked away on her mismatched bronze and animal legs while Nico struggled to hold the ceiling. He wanted to cry out, to yell after her, to call for help, but the pain was overwhelming. Imagine the worst pain you have ever felt: breaking a bone, dislocating a joint, tearing muscle tissue, or getting a giant bruise. Now think about all the bones in your body breaking and all your joints becoming dislocated. That's closer to the amount of pain Nico was feeling.

His sight blurred. He didn't know how long it had been or whether he was dead. Maybe it was his eyes playing tricks or something, but the fog around him slowly cleared.

From nearby, a deep male voice boomed. "How is our mortal guest?"

A guy with sandy blonde hair, at least Nico thought that's what the color was, but he couldn't be sure with his body so tired, emerged from the shadows. Walking towards him, the guy knelt beside Nico. "He's fading. We must hurry," The guy said.

The deep voice chuckled.. Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light, a woman, her hands and feet bound in bronze chains. Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places, and she was bleeding gold, but then again, that could have been Nico's slightly delusional mind.

"You heard the boy," Said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"

"I will not take the sky from a boy," The woman spat, her eyes flashing with Nico. He slightly groaned. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand that for. For the rest of the conversation, he zoned out, trying to stay conscious.

Three days later, or had it been four or a week, Nico got a visitor. The blonde guy returned with a squad of monsters flanking him. In between two snake ladies, a girl with long black hair was bound and gagged. One of the women prodded her with her spear shaft. The girl's eyes open, revealing two hazel orbs. When she saw Nico, her expression turned to one of concern and fear. She began struggling against her bonds, fighting to be freed.

The blonde guy ripped off her gag. "Would you like to join your friend under the sky?"

"Cut off my chains," Fern demanded.

One of the monsters sliced the chains keeping her hands together, cutting part of Fern's back while doing so. Blood formed at the cut, but still Fern struggled towards Nico. She had obviously been beaten and injured before she was brought here. Stretching her arms upward, Fern took part of the burden. As she took the place beside him, Nico thought she looked like a very determined angel, coming to save him.

"Fern?" Nico croaked, his mouth dry like a desert. "What... are ... you... doing... here?"

The girl shifted her hands slightly to get a better grip on the ceiling. "Bianca got a... quest. We were in Nevada when I was taken," She stops to take a long breath. "When I came around... I was here."

"But what... is this place? Who are you?" He asked.

She launched off on a crazy story about gods falling in love with mortals and how he was one of their children. Somehow, this made the pain of the sky a little more bearable.

He wasn't sure for how much longer they held the sky. It felt like centuries, but it was probably only a few days. Together, the two managed to hold the impossible burden, encouraging each other.

When they were about ready to collapse with extreme exhaustion, their saviors arrived.

_**Previously a top Mount Othrys,**_

_**Jackson looked around at the scene. Nico and Fern wouldn't last much longer under the sky. Artemis wouldn't be any help unconscious. The dracena and Luke would have to be restrained for long enough. Suddenly it clicked.**_

"_**We're all family, Atlas," Jackson drew his axe. "I challenge you."**_

Atlas gave a harsh, cruel laugh. He had the same regal expression as Zoe, he could see it now. They shared the cold proud look, though on him it looked a thousand times more evil. Atlas was all the things to originally be disliked about Zoe, with none of the good she had showed.

"Are you sure you want to do that little demigod?" Atlas sneered.

"Let Artemis go," Zoe demanded.

"No, I think I will keep her here, locked up in chains. Then when Lord Kronos rules again, all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, here in the center of our palace. It will teach them some humility," Atlas said cruelly.

"I don't understand," Thalia said. "Why can't Nico and Fern just let go of the sky?"

Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape," Atlas smiled. "Unless someone else takes it from you."

He approached us, studying Thalia. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge. But alas, an immortal does not fight a mere mortal directly. It is beneath our dignity. I will have Luke crush you instead."

"Coward," Thalia spat. Atlas's eyes glowed with hatred.

"Daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."

"I wasn't wrong," Luke managed. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as if it were painful. "Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"

He waved his hand, and next to her a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus. "Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods."

"Luke…" Annabeth whispered. "What happened to you?"

"Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods? Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!"

"The titans are no better," Annabeth said.

Luke got a look of rage. "The titans cared about me! Koios, my grandfather, helped my mother stay sane! It wasn't Hermes, it was him! Koios protected us through our travels, not our godly parents! Even here, Atlas and Perses took me in as their own son, blessing me! When have the Olympians done that?"

Jackson had to admit, Luke was right. The Olympians hadn't cared for their children, but they had created a camp where they could learn to protect themselves. It wasn't right, but it was all they had.

Thalia shook her head. "Free Artemis. Let her go."

"If you join me," Luke promised, "It can be like old times. The three of us together. Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree…" His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."

His life depended on Thalia's joining his cause. And Jackson was afraid Thalia might believe it, too.

"Do not, Thalia," Zoe warned. "We must fight them."

Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp. A sacrificial flame.

"Thalia," Annabeth said. "No."

Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, images appeared in the mist all around them: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising, made of fear and shadow.

"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak."

He pointed toward the ocean, and my heart fell. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the _Princess Andromeda_ was docked, was a great army, dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters, half-bloods, hell hounds, and harpies. They were all marching straight at them. In a few minutes, they would be here.

"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."

For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. But Jackson interrupted her.

"I said," Jackson raised his voice, and throwing one of his knifes on the ground, though it would return to it's sheath soon. "I challenge you, Atlas. Or has your hearing gone bad from your head swelling over your ego?"

"Ha!" Atlas laughed. "A mere demigod-"

His sentence was cut off as Jackson charged him so fast, striking so fast, the titan could not follow. Atlas roared in pain as the axe slashed across his back. Jackson darted away, as a huge javelin appeared in Atlas's hands. His silk suit melted into full Greek battle armor. For a few seconds, the son of Thalassa looked around at the fight.

Annabeth and Thalia went straight for Luke. But despite his sickly appearance, Luke was still quick with his sword. He snarled like a wild animal and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power. Annabeth tried to cut Luke's side while he was distracted, but the son of Hermes had grown stronger. His brain was now up to Annabeth's level of thinking with Koios as his grandfather. His strikes were more powerful and destructive, yet he was quick. Luke knocked Annabeth away with the flat of his sword, but Thalia intervened, distracting him.

Bianca had charged the dracaenas, wielding her knife with expertise. Jackson's instincts screamed _duck!_ and he crouched as the heavy javelin swung over his head. A dozen of Zoe's silver arrows found chinks in Atlas' armor. He yelled in pain as he ripped them out.

"Zoe!" Jackson yelled as he saw Bianca slowly becoming overwhelmed with fighting ten of the dracaenas at once. "Give Bianca back up!"

"But you will surely be killed!" Zoe yelled as Jackson slid at Atlas his axe whirling.

"Go!" Zoe leapt from her firing perch, notching an arrow and killing a dracena. As she landed, the huntress drew her hunting knifes, charging the monsters. Jackson resumed his concentration on the fight with Atlas. The titan of endurance swung his javelin at him, but he ducked under it, stabbing Atlas in the side. He yelled, kicking Jackson back faster than he could think. Percy's head slammed into a black wall. It wasn't Mist anymore. The palace was rising, brick by brick. It was becoming real. With his head spinning, he saw a dracena sneak up on Bianca. The daughter of Hades managed to twist away from the strike, avoiding the nearly fatal blow, but the monster still managed to stab her in the arm. Another serpent woman swung her trident, attempting to hit Zoe. The shaft of the weapon knocked Bianca backwards, under the feet of Nico and Fern.

"The sky," Bianca muttered as she got to her feet. Jackson struggled to his feet and charged the titan again. They exchanged blocks, strikes, parries, and kicks faster than anyone thought possible. "Give me the sky," Bianca said to Fern. "You're the only one who can help your brother."

Fern looked sadly down at Bianca as sweat poured off her. "It... will... kill... you," She managed with labored breaths.

"The only way," With that Bianca stood next to Nico, holding the sky too. Fern fell to the ground as Bianca's face contorted into a look of pain. Nico was fading too, slowly dropping to the ground as Bianca bore the weight of the sky alone. Fern lay, hardly moving on the ground.

Thalia and Luke went spear on sword, lightning still flashing around them, with Annabeth helping Thalia press Luke back. He retreated, wincing and growling in frustration.

"Yield!" Thalia yelled. "You never could beat us, Luke."

He bared his teeth. "Well see, my old friend."

Jackson sliced the shaft of Atlas' blade in half, but the titan only summoned another one. Using the spike of the broken one, he pinned Jackson to the wall before advancing on Fern, who lay weak and unprotected on the ground.

"Die, little hero," Atlas said. He raised his javelin to impale her.

**The Void, Same time**

The remaining last children sat in their father's office, intensely watching the large TV screen. During Imogene and Percy's whole time on earth, the siblings had closely watched them. The primordials watched the quest. Chaos too sat at his desk, his attention fixed on the scene on Mount Othrys. Then something happened that made the ancient god want to flash down there himself and kick some titan butt. Imogene, his little daughter, was about to be killed by the titan Atlas. She had fought so hard, been so brave. She had held the sky for so long and done so well.

"Come on, Imogene, you can do it," Holly rooted for her friend.

A tear fell silently from the corners of Chaos' eyes as the titan smiled victoriously. Gaia turned her face away, burying her sobbing eyes into Ouranos neck. Ouranos looked sadly at the screen.

"My baby girl," Gaia said. "I love you," Ouranos runs her back soothing, but tears leak from his blue eyes, like rain from the sky.

**Mount Othrys, Same time**

"NO!" Zoe yelled and she leapt in front of Fern, shooting an arrow straight into her father's forehead where it stayed stuck like a unicorn's horn. Atlas bellowed before stabbing Zoe in the stomach with his javelin. Then he knocked her out of the way, sending her flying into the black rocks.

"Foolish daughter!" He yelled in rage. Artemis, whose chains had been cut by Annabeth at the beginning of the fight, began to stir. She slowly began to drag herself towards her lieutenant.

This seemed to shake Fern from her daze. Getting to her feet, she drew her staff and sword. Meanwhile, Jackson had loosened the javelin pinning him to the wall. Fern swung her staff at Atlas while slicing his arm. The titan tried to strike her with his javelin, but Fern's anger propelled her to fight like she never had before. Soon Jackson joined her and together they pushed the titan back towards the sky, slowly overpowering him. They could have killed him, but then they would never get off the mountain with no one to hold the sky.

"Get ready!" Fern yelled to Bianca. The girl muttered something incoherent in response, but she had understood. With a final whack of her staff and a swing of his axe, the two siblings kicked Atlas into Bianca, who had loosened her grip on the sky. Atlas slammed into her and Bianca rolled for all she was worth.

The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late.

"_Noooooo_!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "_Not again_!"

Luke was backed to the corner of the cliff, but still he and Annabeth fought, next to the golden coffin of Kronos. Thalia had been cast aside and was still trying to get up. Annabeth had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face glistened with sweat.

He lunged at Annabeth, but Thalia was there to intercept the strike with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.

For a moment, there was silence.

"Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but fear was clear in his voice. Thalia trembled with fury.

Behind her, Annabeth came scrambling, recovering from the attack. Her face was bruised and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!"

"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"

"We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He… he'll be useful."

"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please your dad?"

Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear.

"No!" Annabeth shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell.

"Luke!" Annabeth screamed.

Below the cliff's edge, the army from the _Princess Andromeda_ had stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks.

One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"

Thalia and Annabeth were stiff with grief, tears streaming down their cheeks. Jackson and Fern pulled them back as a wave of javelins sailed over their heads, running to the rocks. A weakened Bianca pulled an unconscious Nico slowly.

"Zoe!" Jackson called, kneeling at her side. Fern grabbed one of their nearby backpacks, pulling out ambrosia and nectar for the injured demigods. Thalia helped a grief stricken Annabeth drink the nectar, while Fern dribbed more in Nico's mouth. Bianca ate a square, her shoulders slumped and tired.

Artemis looked at Zoe sadly, brushing the black hair away from Zoe's face. Jackson and the goddess knelt beside a breathing Zoe. But her life force was getting weaker.

Jackson's eyes widened when he saw the wound at Zoe's side. Ladon had injured her worse than he had feared. And the barbed hole in her stomach wasn't helping.

"The wound is poisoned," He said.

"Atlas poisoned her?" Artemis asked.

"No, she was attacked by Ladon," He replied.

"The stars," Zoe murmured. "I can see them again."

Artemis choked down a sob. Zoe was shivering, and the faint glow that usually hung around her was fading.

"Can't you heal her with magic?" Bianca asked Artemis. "I mean… you're a goddess."

Artemis looked troubled. "Life is a fragile thing. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try."

She set her hand on Zoe's side, but nothing happened. Zoe's eyes closed, her breathing slowing. The sound of footsteps could be heard against the marble floor. One of the hesperides, the second youngest, rushed in.

"Move! I have little time!" Artemis moved over and the girl knelt by Zoe's side.

"Who are you and what are you doing?" Thalia asked.

"I am Aegle, one of the Hesperides. And I am trying to save my sister," The girl replied, her eyes never leaving Zoe's wound.

"Why? I thought you hated her," Jackson said as Aegle checked Zoe's pulse.

"I did not, that was my sisters. Zoe was the middle sister, my favorite of all of them. When she left, it unsettled me. I knew she would not leave us for we were close. My sisters however became bitter and angry, refusing to believe that father had banished her. But what Zoe said today only confirmed that father had thrown her out. I convinced my sisters to help her," Aegle explained swiftly.

More footsteps could be heard on the floor. The three other sisters ran in, each holding an ornate hair pin. Jackson moved so that they could help their sister, but still stayed close to Zoe's head.

"Her pin," Erytheia commanded. Aegle snatched the pin that was Riptide out of Zoe's hair before blowing on it. Each sister blew on it before Arethusa pinned it back in Zoe's hair. The sisters worked frantically, mixing herbs, applying bandages, and using their magic to heal Zoe.

Soon, Aegle sat back on her heels and let out a long breath. "She will live."

"How..." Artemis was at a loss for words.

"We returned her immortal power to her. Well, not completely, but she will live. She is only sleeping now," Hesperia said.

"Though you will not be very soon. The monsters are approaching," Arethusa warned. "Leave now. They will not harm us."

Artemis raised her hunting horn to her lips. The sound was pure, echoing around the valley. Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer silver reindeer. Jackson picked up a sleeping Zoe.

"Get in," Artemis said. She reached out and helped Bianca get Nico on board. Thalia and Annabeth climbed on.

"Wait," Aegle called to Jackson. He turned. "Take care of our sister... and tell her we still love her."

"I will," He replied before climbing into the chariot.

The army of Kronos had just crested the rise. A strange buzzing noise filled the air and a Sopwith Camel swooped down out of the sky.

"Get away from my daughter!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into scattering.

"Dad?" Yelled Annabeth in disbelief.

"Go!" He called back, his voice growing fainter as the biplane swooped by.

Artemis snapped the reins onto the reindeer's' back. They climbed into the sky.

"A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval. The Sopwith Camel swooped down again. A few giants threw javelins, and one flew straight between the wings of the plane, but the machine guns blazed. Dr. Chase must've gotten hold of celestial bronze to fashion his bullets. The first row of snake women wailed as he unloaded his ammo on them.

Seeing them safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed like an honor guard. It must have been one of the strangest sights ever, even for the Bay Area: a silver flying chariot pulled by deer, escorted by a Sopwith Camel. The army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount Tamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as he struggled under the weight of the sky.

The chariot landed in Crissy field just after nightfall. As soon as Dr. Chase stepped out of his Sopwith Camel, Annabeth ran to him and gave him a huge hug. "Dad! You flew… you shot… oh my gods! That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"

Her father blushed. "Well, not bad for a middle-aged mortal, I suppose."

"But the celestial bronze bullets! How did you _get_ those?"

"Ah, well. You did leave quite a few half-blood weapons in your room in Virginia, the last time you… left."

Annabeth looked down, embarrassed. "I decided to try melting some down to make bullet casings," He continued. "Just a little experiment."

"Dad…" Annabeth faltered.

"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said. "I will not be able to take you."

The goddess set her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You are brave beyond measure, my girl. You will do what is right."

Then she looked quizzically at Thalia, as if she weren't sure what to make of this younger daughter of Zeus. Thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and she held the goddess's eyes. Artemis' look softened with sympathy. She then turned to her chariot.

"Take care of Zoe," She called as she mounted her chariot, which began to glow. Averting their eyes, there was a flash of silver, and the goddess was gone.

"Well," Dr. Chase sighed. "She was impressive; though I must say I still prefer Athena."

Annabeth turned toward him. "Dad, I… I'm sorry that—"

"Shh," He hugged her. "Do what you must, my dear. I know this isn't easy for you."

His voice was a little shaky, but he gave Annabeth a brave smile.

_Well, this is great. _Jackson thought. The goddess just ditched us. He could transport himself to New York, but Fern was too weak to help him with the others. Plus, Zoe's injuries might not go well with the travelling. Then a chorus of voices spoke in his mind.

_Could we be of service? _Jackson grinned and replied.

Twelve large shapes burst out of the trees. Since he had seen the hybrid saber tooth cats in the afternoon, they had grown several feet, now the size of horses. Thalia drew her spear while Dr. Chase stepped protectively in front of Annabeth.

"Relax guys, these, umm, guys are here to help us," Jackson reassured his friends. Fern smiled before walking over to one and climbing on its back. The tiger turned its head, sniffing her. Nico stumbled over to a tiger who knelt for easy climb on. Bianca soon followed. Jackson carefully lay a sleeping Zoe on another's back before climbing on himself.

"Bye dad," Annabeth said.

Dr. Chase blinked. He looked at his daughter and managed a smile. "I'm sorry, my dear, I know you must go."

He gave her one last awkward, well-meaning hug. As she turned to climb aboard the tiger, Dr. Chase called, "Annabeth. I know… I know San Francisco is a dangerous place for you. But please remember, you always have a home with us. We will keep you safe."

Annabeth didn't answer, but her eyes were red as she turned away. Dr. Chase started to say more, then apparently thought better of it. He raised his hand in a sad farewell and trudged away across the dark field. Thalia and Annabeth mounted their rides.

_Everyone ready? _His tiger asked in Jackson's mind. The son of Chaos looked around before nodding.

The tigers bounded off into the darkness, the unused six forming a protective circle around them.

"How will we get to New York before dawn at this pace?" Annabeth asked.

"These are magical creatures. They have a way of bending time so that they go faster. Like centaurs," Fern explained.

Annabeth nodded in understanding before turning to talk with Thalia. The di Angelo twins were already fast asleep, exhausted from holding the sky. Their rides adjusted their gaits so that they wouldn't fall off.

"Thanks," Fern said to him.

"What for?" Jackson asked.

"I don't know, rescuing me," She looked so fragile especially with that grey streak in her black hair from holding the sky.

"You're my sister. I wasn't going to let you rot. Plus," He added. "None of our family would let us live it down."

Fern cracked a smile. "You're right."

Jackson smiled too before his face darkened. "Why didn't Artemis take the sky from you?"

His sister looked grim. "They would keep Artemis alive as a bargaining chip. But if they had no use for Nico and I..." Her voice cracked.

"Fern..." He started.

"I'm going to get some sleep now," She slumped forward, but Jackson knew she wasn't asleep.

For a while, he watched the darkness flicker by. Soon, Zoe stirred, trying to sit up. She succeeded in almost falling over the back of the giant cat into the blurring ground below.

"Careful," Jackson warned her.

She spun around to look at him. "Where am I? The last thing I remember was..." Her voice trailed off.

"Get comfortable. It's quite a story," Jackson stated.

Zoe backwards straddled the cat, leaning against the giant head, so she was facing him. "You remember the battle with Atlas right?"

"I remember being thrown into the rocks. And there were stars, so many stars," Zoe said.

"Well," Jackson began and he proceeded to tell her the whole story. By the end, Zoe was blinking back tears.

"They gave up part of their immortality for me?" She asked.

"Yes. Aegle told me to tell you that they still loved you."

Zoe looked ready to cry, but Thalia's voice interrupted her. "We're here."

Jackson looked up. High above the Empire State Building, Olympus was its own island of light, a floating mountain ablaze with torches and braziers, white marble palaces gleaming in the early morning air.

"The winter solstice," Annabeth said. "The Council of the Gods."

The tigers let them off in an alley one block away from the empire state building. They left with promises to see Jackson and Fern soon. The group headed into the empire state building where Thalia bullied the guy at the desk into giving them the key. The expression on his face as Thalia shocked his hair burnt was priceless. Soon, they were in the elevator, heading to the 600th floor, Mount Olympus.

In the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently no one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here. The scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things mixed in with the smell of fresh baked food. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes. Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.

"Ready?" Fern asked once they stood outside the silver doors. The doors swung open, revealing the throne room. Together, they walked into the council of the gods.

**I hoped you liked the chapter. Next chapter is the council of the gods and a talk with good old Hades.**

**Remember to Review!**

**Thanks!**

**P.S. I changed a few things in chapter two. It would be helpful it you read that again up to the part where the Last children are born.**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	13. Winter Solistice

**Chapter 13, yay!**

**Review Responses**

**Son of Pluto14- Sorry, no Peranca in this. Just a Perzoe. But I'm planning to write a new story where it may be Percy and Bianca.**

**Renu- I had a lot of fun writing the babies part.**

**greekmythfreak- I double checked and there were 13. You might have skipped Hayden or Amy. Check through this list to see if you missed any. Hayden- Ananke, Ethan- Nyx, Max- Gaia, Alabaster- Ananke, Paul- Nyx, Oliver- Gaia, Perseus- Thalassa, Amy- Ananke, Mia- Nyx, Imogene- Gaia, Holly- Ananke, Keira- Nyx, and Willow- Gaia.**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners.**

_**Previously on Mount Olympus,**_

_**"Ready?" Fern asked once they stood outside the silver doors. The doors swung open, revealing the throne room. Together, they walked into the council of the gods.**_

Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations. All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall. To a demigod, the Olympian council would look quite intimidating. But once you have stood in front of the primordial council and the creator, Chaos, nothing quite reaches that level. Well, Tartarus taking selfies with Eros helps calm the nerves along with the fact that the Primordial council practically raised them.

"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.

"Mooo!" A sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. Bessie was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. He seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. Jillian, Leo, and Grover knelt at Zeus's throne, as if they'd just been giving a report. Leo however was fiddling with screws and bolts, probably not helping with the report.

The lord of the sky looked up as we entered. Zeus gave a nod to the two demigods and a satyr and they rushed over to us.

None of the gods spoke. Every clop of Grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. Bessie splashed in his bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled. Grover gave Annabeth and Thalia big hugs. Jillian too hugged her friends while Leo flashed them peace signs.

"Heroes," Artemis called. The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward the group, looking much like the girl who came out of the woods at Westover except now she wore silver robes instead of a hunter's outfit. There was no emotion in her face. She seemed to walk in a column of moonlight.

"The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told us. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.

"At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said. "My brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship _Princess Andromeda_ and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes…"

She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?"

She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with brown hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers, Lady Hera.

On Zeus's right was Poseidon. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus. Hermes winked at them. He was wearing a business suit today, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, but he took them off.

"I feel a haiku coming on," He said dramatically. All the gods rolled their eyes.

"_Heroes did come back,_

_They really rescued my sis,_

_Aren't I so cool?"_

"Apollo," Athena said. "Heroes did come back is not proper grammar."

"It doesn't matter," Apollo said. "Because all the ladies love the poetry. Right Zoe?"

Zoe glared at him and went to summon her bow, but nothing happened. Artemis looked at her lieutenant, white faced, truth finally becoming apparent like a storm about to hit.

"My blessing, Zoe, it's gone," Artemis said.

The look of fear on Zoe's face was horrible. Jackson looked at her, noticing the lack of silver glow. _Why hadn't he noticed it sooner? _Before she could speak, Zeus began the meeting. "So we must discuss the fate of these heroes and the monster."

"All in favor of not disintegrating them?" Apollo asked. A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite.

"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and Jillian. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got them here—"

"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "They are worthy heroes. We will not blast my daughter to bits."

"But they pose a threat to Olympus and my- I mean our rule," Zeus countered.

"Are you suggesting you kill your own daughter, brother?" Poseidon asked.

"It would be safer for Olympus," Zeus began, then stopped at a glare from Artemis. "My daughter has done well," He said grudgingly, not sounding convinced of the fact.

The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter's bravery too. But there is a security risk here with the other two."

"Mother!" Annabeth said. "How can you say that after all they've do-"

Athena cut her off with a calm but firm look. "It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my uncle, Poseidon, chose to break their oath not to have more children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic," By the hearth, Hades kept his face clear of emotion. "As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods… such as Thalia and Jillian… are dangerous. As thick headed as he is, Ares has a point."

"Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'—"

He started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down.

"Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later."

Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these brats?"

Dionysus gazed down at us wearily. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly think it safest to destroy them?"

"I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council must decide."

"I will not have them punished," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."

"Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."

"Don't call me _sis_! I will reward them."

"Well," Zeus grumbled. "Perhaps. But the monster at least must be destroyed. We have agreement on that?"

A lot of nodding heads.

"Bessie? You want to destroy Bessie?" Jillian asked.

"Mooooooo!" Bessie protested.

Poseidon frowned. "You have named the Ophiotaurus Bessie?"

"Dad," Jillian said, "He's just a sea creature. A really _nice_ sea creature. You can't destroy him."

"Yeah," Leo agreed. "If Bessie wasn't in the water so much, we could totally be best buds and hang out. We would go to McDonald's and get the best flurries. They have a flurry of the month. It's mint with a ton of m and m's..." Leo trailed off when he saw everyone staring at him funny. "What? It's good."

Poseidon shifted uncomfortably. "Jillian, the monster's power is considerable. If the Titans were to steal it, or—"

"You can't," She insisted, looking at Zeus. "Controlling the prophecies never works. Isn't that true? Besides, Bess—the Ophiotaurus is innocent. Killing something like that is wrong. It's just as wrong as… as Kronos eating his children, just because of something they _might_ do. It's wrong!"

Zeus seemed to consider this. His eyes drifted to his daughter Thalia. "And what of the risk? Kronos knows full well, if one of you were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, you would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain? You, my daughter, will turn thirteen tomorrow and sixteen in three years just as the prophecy says."

"You have to trust them," Annabeth spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them."

Zeus scowled. "Trust a hero?"

"Annabeth is right," Artemis said. "Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoe Nightshade, cannot retain my blessing. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately."

Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear. And then Artemis turned.

"I shall have a new lieutenant," She announced. "If she will accept," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?"

Stunned silence filled the room. Thalia looked a sad Zoe, who slowly nodded. "I will," Thalia said firmly.

"I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again," She knelt before the goddess and began the hunter's oath. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt."

Thalia hugged Annabeth, who was trying hard not to cry. Then she even hugged Grover, who looked ready to pass out. Thalia went to stand by Artemis's side.

"Now for the Ophiotaurus," Artemis said.

"This girl is still dangerous," Dionysus warned, pointing at Jillian. "The beast is a temptation to great power. Even if we spare her—"

"No," Jillian protested. "Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe. My dad can hide him under the sea somewhere, or keep him in an aquarium here in Olympus. But you have to protect him."

"And why should we trust you?" rumbled Hephaestus.

"I'm only twelve," She said. "If this prophecy is about me, that's four more years."

Jackson wished it could be that simple. Bianca was the prophecy child at the age of thirteen. If she died or decided otherwise, Nico was right behind her to fill in.

"Four years for Kronos to deceive you," Athena said. "Much can change in four years, my young hero."

"Mother!" Annabeth said, exasperated.

"It is only the truth, child. It is bad strategy to keep the animal alive. Or the girl."

Poseidon stood. "I will not have a sea creature destroyed, if I can help it. And I _can_ help it,"

He held out his hand, and a trident appeared in it: a twenty foot long bronze shaft with three spear tips that shimmered with blue, watery light. "I will vouch for the girl and the safety of the Ophiotaurus."

"You won't take it under the sea!" Zeus stood suddenly. "I won't have that kind of bargaining chip in your possession. It's too much power for you!"

"Brother, please," Poseidon sighed.

Zeus's lightning bolt appeared in his hand, a shaft of electricity that filled the whole room with the smell of ozone. "Fine," Poseidon said. "I will build an aquarium for the creature here. Hephaestus can help me. The creature will be safe. We shall protect it with all our powers. The girl will not betray us. I vouch for this on my honor."

"And what do we do about Artemis' old lieutenant?" Hera asked.

"She cannot be allowed to roam free! She is the daughter of a titan!" Zeus exclaimed.

"I will not allow you to kill her!" Artemis shot back.

A shouting match began between the gods before Hades stood up from his guest throne by the hearth and yelled, "Silence!"

"Why doesn't she come to camp with us?" Bianca suggested. "I saw Zoe on the quest. She is an amazing archer."

"That's cool," Apollo said. "My kids can give you archery and flirti-"

He dropped off with Artemis' glare. "Zoe, I am very sorry it must be this way. As my longest huntress, you have the right to use the Artemis cabin. And this," The silver eyed girl summoned a bow, one Jackson recognized as the bow Zoe used on the quest, along with several hunting knifes. "It is only right that you get to keep the weapon you carried for millennia," Zoe took the bow, fighting back tears.

Zeus thought about this. "All in favor?"

A lot of hands went up. Dionysus abstained. So did Ares and Athena. But everybody else…

"We have a majority," Zeus decreed. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes… I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"

The Olympians waved their hands, tables filled with delicious food, banners, streamers, and party balloons appearing. In a way, it reminded Jackson of the party at Westover hall. Hopefully, this party ended a lot better. The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes and everyone heard the song they wanted to. No arguments from the perpetual bickering immortal family. No fights to change the radio station. Just requests to crank it up.

Mostly, he stayed close to his sister. He wasn't letting her get captured ever again. Fern looked pale and gaunt, while Nico's eyes had a lifeless look to them. Slowly the two looked a little more alive, but it would be a long time before they were back to normal if that was possible.

Bianca struck up a conversation with Thalia and Jillian, though she kept a watchful eye on her younger brother. Thalia had a silvery glow to her, the lieutenant's circlet situated in her black choppy hair. Annabeth stood with a muttering Grover, something about coffee. Who knows what the S.S. was up to now?

After a few minutes, gods and goddess came over to pull Jillian from her conversation. Jillian looked overwhelmed with all of the attention she was getting. First Hermes, in the normal mortal size form, was chatting with her. Then Apollo showed up to offer her a drive in the sun chariot and archery lessons. The daughter of Poseidon politely refused. Just as she was looking around for Leo, who had last been seen flirting with nymphs, another god approached her. As Poseidon spoke, Jillian's face grew grim. He patted her on shoulder awkwardly before heading over to stop a few demigods from playing with Bessie like a beach ball.

Jillian stomped over to us, looking slightly mad. "What's wrong?" Thalia asked.

"Come with me," She said, leading them out of the noisy room and into a side balcony. Jackson and his friends followed, curious. She motioned for them to take a seat on the stone bench curving around the outside of the balcony. Thalia sat down shakily, careful to sit far away from the edge. Grover tapped his hooves nervously. Annabeth just looked sad and maybe a bit wistful.

"Tell me again what happened on Mount Othrys," Jillian demanded.

Annabeth recounted the tale, tears brimming in her eyes when she mentioned Luke's fall. Thalia had to take over the story at this point. When she finished, Jillian looked disturbed.

"Luke isn't dead," She said.

Turning to Thalia, Annabeth gave her a look of _I told you so. _"How did you know?"

"Poseidon told me. Apparently Luke's boat sails from San Fransisco with the remains of Kronos now. They took a heavy blow at Mount Othrys. He will need time to recover. My father will try to slow him down with storms, but his assault will happen. We have maybe two or three summers until he attacks again," Jillian explained.

Crossing her arms, Annabeth looked thoughtful. "How did he survive that fall?" She began muttering to herself.

"I think I have to go meet Artemis now," Thalia said standing up. She gave Jillian a hug. "Take care of yourself Coral Head."

"You too, Pinecone Face," Jillian smiled a little sad.

Thalia embraced Grover, making him promise to visit on his wild adventures. The satyr blushed and eagerly agreed. Annabeth stopped muttering to herself long enough to say goodbye to her friend. Then she turned to the other four.

"If you ever want to join the hunt," Thalia offered to Fern and Bianca. "I could use a few more sisters."

Fern gave a weak smile. "Nah, I'll stick with my brothers for a bit longer."

"Me too," Bianca said, wrapping her arm around Nico's shoulders protectively.

"Then I will enjoy kicking your butts in the next hunters vs campers capture the flag," Thalia waved before leaving.

Soon after, the four friends left the balcony, leaving a pacing Jillian, a muttering Annabeth, and a very nervous Grover.

Inside the throne room, Jackson spotted Hades speaking to an eight year old girl by the hearth, Hestia. Hades caught his eye, nodding ever so slightly. _Return to camp with the other half bloods. There my sister will send you to the underworld, _The god said in his mind. Moving his head ever so slightly, Jackson showed that he understood. Hades bid farewell to Hestia before the shadows enveloped him.

Several hours later, the demigods from Camp Half Blood met at the elevator, ready to head back to camp. Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked up Annabeth, Grover, a very grumpy Zoe, Jillian, Bianca, Nico, Fern, and him at the Empire State Building. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted as they drove back through a light snowstorm.

As they trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, Jillian and Annabeth looked wistful at the tree, probably half expecting to see Thalia waiting there. But she was gone, off running around with the Hunters and Artemis, her new family. Chiron greeted them at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Grover went off with his satyr friends to talk about how he had saved a wild beast and Olympus in one shot. Yeah right. Zoe trudged unhappily to the Artemis cabin where the goddess promised she could stay. Jackson watched her walk away, wishing he could comfort her. When the silver door of the cabin shut, he followed the others into the big house.

Chiron called a council meeting which Jackson, Fern, Bianca, and Nico were invited to sit in on as part of the quest. Silena, Beckendorf, Katie, Michael Yew, Jillian, Annabeth and the Stoll brothers were all present. Another girl with ragged brown hair and a long scar on her chin also was there. From her resemblance to her father, Jackson knew this girl must be the Clarisse from the Ares cabin.

"I got news," She mumbled uneasily. "_Bad_ news."

"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved..." Chiron looked at Nico in confusion.

"Nico di Angelo," The son of Hades replied.

"Yes, you saved Mr di Angelo," Chiron corrected himself.

"Luke is still alive from a huge fall," Jillian said grimly. Jackson didn't miss the expression of hope cross Annabeth's face.

"Well," Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Jillian is sixteen, at least we have four more years to figure something out."

_Actually only two and a half, _Jackson thought, glancing at Bianca.

Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked really old. "Four years may seem like a long time," He said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Jillian. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."

"How do you know?" Michael Yew asked. "Why would he care about camp?"

"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous… We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but—"

"What news?" Annabeth asked. As a daughter of Athena, she hated not knowing things.

Chiron waved her off. "Now is not the time to discuss these things. The important thing is that you succeeded in your quest. We have some time."

Jackson approached Chiron after the meeting, Fern right behind him. "Umm, Chiron sir?" Jackson asked.

The centaur looked up. "What did you need, m'boy?"

"Our mother called us when we were on Olympus and wanted us to come home for the winter," He explained, his poker face already one.

Chiron looked a bit suspicious but nodded. "Will you be coming back for the summer session?" He asked.

The siblings exchanged glances. "I think so."

Annabeth looked displeased as Chiron waved her out of the meeting. The four friends headed to the empty Hermes cabin, the rest of campers were at activities, where Jackson and Fern packed up their bags. Bianca and Nico sit nearby on an empty mattress, looking sad while Jackson packs his duffel bag and Fern rolls up her sleeping bag.

"How long will you be gone for?" Bianca asked.

Jackson closed the zipper before turning. "We'll come back in the summer. Our mom wants us to come home for the rest of the school year."

"Besides," Fern added. "We can't exactly go back to Westover Hall after vaporizing a teacher and student."

The di Angelo twins smiled faintly, but the air was still tense. "So, see you in August," Nico said, the sentence sounding like a little bit of a question.

"You're not getting rid of us that easily," Fern said, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "There's someone who wants to meet you," With that, she slung her bags over her shoulder and left the cabin.

"Come on," Bianca said, her voice lighter. "Fern won't wait for long."

The trio followed the daughter of Gaia across the camp green to the central hearth. A young girl, probably around nine years old, pokes the embers of a fire with an iron stick. Her mousy brown hair hangs long over her brown dress. When she turns towards them, her cozy red eyes meet Jackson's. Instantly, he knows that Hades has told his oldest sister about his children.

"My lady," Fern said, bowing respectfully to the girl. Bianca, Nico, and Jackson follow suit. After today in the throne room of the gods, Bianca and Nico seemed to have realized how petty gods can get over the slightest disrespect. Jackson and Fern bow because they were taught at a young age respect and Hestia's power.

"No need to bow, heroes," The woman says kindly. "You have done Olympus a great service. I am not an Olympian, you should not bow for me."

"Lady Hestia, we bow to you because we respect you, not your rank on position on the council," Jackson explained.

The goddess of the hearth smiled, a warming sight. "Before a week ago, I would be shocked if you told me that a nine year old girl was one of the most powerful goddesses in the Mythical world. Somehow, holding the sky and seeing all those monsters really changes that," Nico remarks a bit darkly.

A look of sadness crossed Hestia's features. "You have gone through much, young hero. But your family and hope has prevailed. Come, your father would like to meet you," Hestia held out her hands for them to grab.

"Our father? But he's dea-" Bianca stopped herself, remembering that one of her parents was an immortal. Whether it was her mother or father, she knew not. Jackson and Fern had told her at Westover after the manticore took Nico that her father was the god, but she couldn't quite believe it.

Fern and Jackson put their hands on Hestia's wrist. After another moment, Nico did the same. Finally, Bianca reached out. The moment her hand touched Hestia's, the world went dark. Unlike shadow travel or teleportation, Hestia's form of travelling was comforting. When their sight came back, Jackson felt like he had just had a good night's sleep and a fresh cooked meal, not a long quest and a fight against a titan.

Hestia steps out of the unlit hearth and the others follow. Bianca and Nico stare around in wonder at the palace as Hestia makes a fire in the hearth. Even though the di Angelo twins saw Olympus today, the black throne room of Hades seems even more impressive to them. Tall black marble columns reach for the open domed ceiling, while several balconies of to the side show the different views of the underworld, Elysuim, Asphodel, the Fields of Punishment, The Styx, and the Judgment table. Jewels and ornate carvings cover the walls.

"What is this place?" Nico asked, his face full of astonishment.

From his throne, Hades rose. Nearby Persephone and Thanatos talk quietly behind the goddess of spring's throne.

"This is my palace," Hades said, spreading his black robed arms. Instead of tortured souls, today the robes seemed to be made of shadows.

Bianca trained her onyx eyes on the god. "You're Hades right?"

He nodded. "You were the god on the throne by the hearth," Nico remembered. Once again, Hades nodded.

"Why are we here?" Nico asked after a pause.

"Because," Hades descended the dais steps. "I wanted to meet my children and tell them what a good job they did on their quest."

"Thank yo-" Bianca began before the words sunk in. "What? You're our DAD?"

Nico looked just as stunned as his sister. "You? Our father?" He managed to splutter out.

"Yes, I am your father," Hades replied, a little bluntly.

"But what of the pact of the big three not to have anymore kids?" Bianca asked.

Hades stepped forward, towards Bianca. At first she stepped back before standing her ground. He touched her pale cheek gently. "My girl, you are so much like your mother, intelligent and so beautiful. But your eyes are the same as mine," His fingers brushed back a stray lock of her dark hair before he turned to Nico.

"And you Nico. You got more of my features, but your eyes, they are your mother's," He said, standing over his son.

"Why don't we remember our mother?" Nico asked.

Sighing, Hades stepped back from his children. "It is a complicated tale, but one you must hear," The god of the dead began. "Your mother was the daughter of an Italian diplomat. We met while they were in Washington D.C. together. World War two was beginning, fuelled by the demigods on each side. It was mostly my children as the Axis powers against Zeus' and Poseidon's children as the Allies. Your mother returned to Venice later and gave birth to you. Several years later, the Axis forces were losing badly. I convinced Maria to return to D.C. where I thought she would be safe. Then the Oracle of Delphi made a prophecy about a half blood of either Zeus, Poseidon, or me, unleashing great destruction when they reached the age of sixteen. Zeus ordered all children of the Big three to be killed or made immortal to prevent the prophecy from happening. I was not allowed to make you immortal, nor would your mother or I stand for you to be killed. Zeus got impatient, angered that I did not turn you in. We were staying in a hotel when he struck. Your mother had just gone upstairs to get her bags when the lightning bolt hit. I only had enough time to erect a force field around the three of us before the hotel was destroyed. Maria was killed instantly. There was nothing I could do to revenge upon Zeus, and I had overstayed with you, breaking the ancient laws. Alecto, one of my furies, took you to the River Lethe and wiped your memory. Then she placed you in the Lotus Hotel and Casino where you would not age. When I realized that the daughter of Zeus would be the prophecy child if I didn't get you out of the hotel, Alecto took you to Westover Hall, just in time for you to turn thirteen. Alecto failed to stay with you, so I sent Jackson and Fern instead."

The twins of Hades looked shocked. "You knew he was our dad the whole time and you didn't tell us?" Bianca said.

"What are you guys then, monsters or gods?" Nico asked. "Wait, is that why Grover always followed us around?"

"We are children of the gods," Fern answered. "Also, we were on specific orders from your father not to tell you of your heritage."

"Yes, Grover was a satyr, sent by Camp Half Blood," Jackson explained to Nico, who had been with Thorn when this was all explained.

"So was that why my knife could kill the sparta?" Bianca questioned.

Hades nodded. "Let me see your blade again."

Bianca tugged on her bracelet making the long stygian iron dagger appear. Handing it to her father, Hades turned it over in his hands.

"This blade, like all stygian iron, was mined and forged here in the Underworld. It was cooled in the River Styx and only those of the underworld can use it. It can harm both mortals and immortals alike. The blade absorbs the very essence of whatever monster you harm. This prevents them from reforming in Tartarus. This blade is name Ombra tessitore or Shadow Weaver in english," Hades stated before, covering the blade with his hands. A black light glowed brightly from the blade before fading. Hades handed the bracelet back to Bianca.

"Now, if you wish to summon your dagger pull on the black swirl. If you want to have your bow, tug on the skull charm. Flipping the bracelet inside out will summon your stygian iron armor," Hades said,

Bianca put the bracelet back on her wrist. "But I don't have a bow or armor."

"Try it," Hades said.

Flipping her bracelet, Bianca was covered in stygian iron armor. "Cool!" She said before trying out the bow.

Hades turned to his son. Out of the shadows, he pulled a sharp blade made of the same metal. "This is for you. The sword is named fantasma mietitore in Italian or Ghost Reaper in english," Enclosing his hand over the hilt, Hades turned the sword into a grey skull ring before pulling out a black wristband. "If you need your armor, flip the wristband inside out and it will appear. Twisting your skull ring will make your sword appear while pulling on the wristband will summon your sword," He handed the ring and wristband to Nico. "All of your weapons will return in their concealed forms to you when they are lost."

Nico and Bianca stepped forward and hugged their father. At first, Hades looked shocked before he wrapped his arms around his children. Hestia smiled as she poked the merrily burning flames with her stick. Thanatos and Persephone walked over to the family. Persephone smiles at the four heroes.

"Hello," She says warmly, like a spring breeze.

"Shouldn't you hate us?" Nico said bluntly. "We're the kids of your husband and another woman."

Persephone laughs, a light happy sound. "No, no the myths had it all wrong. Hades wasn't the one who kidnapped me from Olympus. I willingly went with Thanatos."

"So," Bianca looked between the two. "You never married Hades?"

"No, Persephone was a niece to me. I wasn't interested in that way. But Olympus, other than Demeter does not know," Hades explained.

Jackson smiled as his cousin laces his hand through Persephone's. Its been hard on his uncle to keep this a secret and stay away from his wife. Thanatos winks at him.

"Anyways, we should be going," Thanatos says. "The family has missed you."

Hades turns to his children. "Do you want to stay here for a while?" He asked a bit nervously. "There some things we must discuss and people I would like you to meet."

The twins exchange excited glances. "Its a deal," They say together. Hades' face has the hint of a smile as he leads his children through his palace.

Persephone kisses Thanatos one last time before she pushed him towards Jackson and Fern. "Don't forget to visit me," She says.

"Nothing could keep me away," Thanatos replies before disappearing. Jackson's last view of the throne room is Persephone smiling while Hestia follows her brother and his children through the palace.

_Time to go home._

**I hoped you like the chapter. Next one has the return of Jackson and Fern (that rhymes) and some shocking news. Possibly a new mission, but I won't say for who.**

**I am planning to write a Percy Jackson story with elements of Maximum Ride. The flock will be made of demigods. I need some help so please pm me if you have read the series.**

**And Storm Rising gets next update.**

**Remember to Review!**

**Thanks!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	14. Home at Last

**Okay, okay, okay.**

**I'm really sorry I haven't been able to update. But I'm not going to bore you with the details of my life.**

**Review Responses**

**Modef, Pridewing demigod, and Theon Azul- the answers to your questions are in the chapter.**

**timjaf- Finish the story? I'm updating as fast as I can. Which is unfortunately rather slowly.**

**AncientTide- Believe me, there will be a big blow up reaction later.**

**Primeval of the darkness- Are you serious? The primordial or personification? Does it really matter? She is very powerful in either way. CampHalfBloodWikia says that she is mother earth and the protogenoi (meaning primordials) while my other sources say that she is the primordial of the earth and mother earth. The definition of Protogenoi says that the primordials made up the very fabric of universe. They are both the personification of and the primordials of.**

**Here is the age order of the characters and their birthdays**

**Bianca and Nico August 13th**

**Thalia (now immortal) December 22nd**

**The Last Children March 21st**

**Jillian November November 1st**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respective owners.**

_**Previously,**_

_**Jackson's last view of the throne room is Persephone smiling while Hestia follows her brother and his children through the palace.**_

_**Time to go home.**_

Percy smiled wide as they reappeared in the beautiful plaza just outside their father's mansion, a light dusting of snow covering the ground. Imogene turned to Thanatos, snowflakes already sprinkling her black hair.

"I almost forgot it was the Solstice celebration!" She smiled wide, the happiest Percy had seen her in the last week.

Thanatos grinned as he glanced around the plaza. "Everyone was waiting to celebrate until you came back, but I thought you'd like to see the plaza first."

Every year, the people decorated the Void for the Solstice celebration, kind of like a Christmas for the Greeks gods. Shopkeepers put lights up in the windows and made special winter displays. Others draped garlands of evergreens around railings, including the ones on the bridges crisscrossing the plaza, and hung wreaths. The last children made it a tradition to walk around town on the night before the solstice to look at all the decorations. Most families got pine trees to adorn with many ornaments. Children received toys, commonly sleds and ice skates to use on the hills and ponds around the Void. And the largest tree of all would go in the center of the plaza, specially picked by Thesis and the last children.

This year certainly did not disappoint. The nearby coffee shop had twinkling lights in the large shop windows. Poinsettias ended the garlands draped across the railings while green wreaths were pinned on doors. Children carrying ice skates were walking to a nearby pond. A horse draw wagon moved easily through the snow. Every year, his step dad, Pontus, primordial of storms, and Thesis, primordial of nature, made sure that a clean layer of light snow was always on the ground for the whole month of December. Though it was rare that they had to interfere.

The tree in the middle of the plaza this year was giant. Percy and Imogene ran towards it, feeling like little children again. Every citizen of the Void was invited to the official decoration of the tree and many came, bringing ornaments to help. As a child, he remembered staring up at the ninety foot tall tree with the stars twinkling behind it. Now the tree ornaments are covered in snow. One catches his eye and he brushes the snow off.

Thirteen small circles wrap around a center circle. In each of the hoops sits a picture of thirteen children, seven boys, six girls, at the solstice celebration throughout the years. The words in the center become clear. _We've celebrated twelve solstices together. Don't let it be our last. Come back Percy and Imogene. _The last small circle is blank, no picture there. Tapping Imogene's shoulder, he shows her the ornament. Her hazel green eyes that once again have their silver swirls fill with tears of gratitude. Without even saying anything, the two raced across the final bridge and up onto the porch of the mansion, Thanatos not far behind. Imogene flung open the door and rushed inside, not even caring about the snow they tracked in.

Instantly they were swarmed by their family. The sisters hugged Imogene while the guys gave Percy a man hug. Willow hugged her sister hard. "Wow, Geney, you stink," She commented.

The older daughter of Gaia laughed. "Figured that out by yourself, did you now?" The sisters laughed, so happy to be together after four long months. Percy's mom hurried in, wrapping her son in a tight embrace.

"I missed you so much," Thalassa murmured to him, running her hands through his messy black hair.

"I missed you too, mom," He rubbed his mom's back soothingly.

After a bit, she stepped back and held him at arm's length. "You've grown, haven't you?" She smiled at him, now having to tilt her head upward to look him in the eyes.

Percy laughed. "But you will always be my mom," He hugged her again as his step dad joined them.

Nearby Imogene was getting a similar treatment from her parents. Gaia was crying as she watched her husband hug his daughter. Her siblings soon got impatient and group hugged their sister. The children of Nyx and Ananke stood back a little, until their parents were done, so they could squash their siblings in a giant group hug.

Holly's purple eyes got big with excitement. "Come on! We waited until you were home to celebrate the solstice!" She grabbed Imogene's arm.

"Whoa, wait a second, Holly," Chaos said, stepping forward. Percy and Imogene rushed to hug him. Chaos wrapped his arms around them, having missed them a lot during the months they were gone. "While I too am excited to celebrate, I think these two would like a little time to relax or change."

"Yeah," Imogene lifted the collar of her shirt to her nose. "Fighting titans and holding the sky works up one mighty sweat. I haven't showered in forever," She made a disgusted face as she sniffed the shirt. Percy nodded in agreement.

"We'll come!"

"I'll get your bag!"

"How fast can you make hot cocoa?"

"Faster than you!"

"Come on! Look at this!"

The thirteen children ran upstairs, Percy and Imogene caught in the crowd. Ethan and Hayden had gotten Percy's bags while Willow and Mia got their sister's Chaos had to laugh as he saw their excitement. Smiling, he turned to the other primordials.

"It is good to have them home again," He said.

Gaia nodded, her eyes shining with tears of joy. "My baby is home."

"Father," Thesis said, her face grave.

"Yes, Thesis?" Chaos turned, the atmosphere now gloomy.

"I did further research on the children after the fight with Atlas," Thesis paused. "The results were... interesting."

Dread filled Chaos swiftly. "Come to my office with me," He walked, slightly bent with worry and tiredness, down the hall, his graceful daughter following him.

Upstairs, the halls that had been lacking happiness for months now rang with joy and laughter. The girls all rushed into Imogene's room, talking animately and begging for details on the things that regular girls liked to talk about. Willow gently pushed her sister onto her bed before sitting down beside her. Mia and Amy began unpacking her duffel bag, determining which clothes were normal, needed washed, and beyond saving, while Keira and Holly hurried to make some hot cocoa for them all to drink.

"So," Amy said, once Keira and Holly returned with mugs of hot cocoa for everyone. "Did you meet any cute guys?"

Imogene laughed, tipping back her head. "Way to be blunt Amy."

"That still didn't answer my question," The daughter of Ananke protested.

"There were a few cute guys at Westover, but they were all mostly mortals," Imogene began.

"And how could you look cute wearing this?" Mia held up Westover Hall's uniform, a white collared shirt, navy blue jacket, and plaid skirt.

"Why did you get six pairs of the uniform- Oh my gosh, we should all try them on!" Amy exclaimed.

"What?" Imogene looked at her half sister in bewilderment. "Are you nuts?"

"Amy is so right!" Keira added. "We could have like a crazy fashion show!"

"Oh come, Imogene, please?" Willow asked, giving the older girl her best puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, just let me get showered first," The other girls cheered as Imogene walked into her bathroom with her fuzzy green bathrobe.

The warm water running over her head and grimy body felt so good that she almost didn't want to get out of the shower, but when the girls started pounding on the door, calling at her to hurry up, did she finally turn off the water.

As she dried herself off and tugged on her bathrobe, Imogene glanced at her reflection in the mirror. What she saw surprised her. Though all of the last children were physically fit and thin, her face now seemed thinner. Her ribs seemed more prominent than before, holding the sky for a week burns a ton of calories. When she looked at her arms, they seemed shakier and paler than before, but new muscles were developing. Shaking her head, she belted the robe and left the bathroom.

While she was in the shower, the five girls had visited their rooms and brought back a crazy assortment of objects. The six uniforms Imogene had acquired at Westover Hall were all on her bed, but in the center was a giant brown paper bag. Each girl grabbed an uniform and summoned their element to cover them as they changed. Soon, all six sisters were in the outfit. If they had their eyes closed, you could have sworn that they were identical sextuplets.

"Okay, so everyone is going to randomly draw an item from the bag and put it on," Amy instructed. "Coolio?"

They nodded before there was a scramble to grab an item out of the bag. Imogene's hand closed in on a bundle of fabric and she drew it out. Holly's pair of neon pink tights were in her hand. Smiling to herself, she pulled them on under the skirt before looking around.

Mia wore Holly's pair of ridiculously tall high heels that they had bought as a joke while Amy wore Keira's leather jacket over her blouse. Willow had on a pair of Tartarus' sunglasses (he gave one to each of his nieces) and a brightly colored scarf that she wore as a berka and Keira sported a rainbow clown wig. Holly adjusted the heavy fur cape on her back.

Simultaneously the girls all broke out laughing.

"We need ... someone to take a picture," Willow said, hiccuping from laughing so hard.

Mia stumbled toward the door in her high heels, bringing another round of giggles from the girls. A few steps from Percy's room where all the guys were, Mia tripped, her outstretched hand hitting his door. Hayden opened the door, his eyebrows rising higher as he took in Mia sprawled in the hallway with a group of his sisters in uniforms with the oddest accents.

"I don't even want to know," He said. This brought the girls to giggles again.

"Just...take ...a... picture," Keira said in between fits of laughter. Hayden obliged, summoning his ipad (Chaos had given all the children devices) and opened to the camera.

"Wait, we should get it outside," Holly suggested. Hayden sighed as he went after his sisters, his other brothers following with curiosity.

Getting down the stairs was a nightmare. At one point, Mia got so fed up with tripping, she sat down on the steps and slid. This time the laughter rang throughout the house as all of the last children laughed.

It was still snowing lightly outside, but the snow dusted ground in front of Chaos' mansion made a perfect backdrop for the pictures. The girls posed in several awkward styles including a pyramid with Holly on the top, piggy back rides, snow angels, and one odd one where Amy was hugging Keira around the neck. Eventually the excited yells and shouts drew the primordials out of the mansion and the whole family posed for the yearly picture including an action filled, full on snow ball fight.

When Willow almost toppled into a half frozen fountain, the family returned inside to celebrate the rest of the solstice. They gathered around the large decorated tree to begin the sometimes silly gift exchange. Percy and Imogene gave all of their siblings snow globes of the empire state building that turned into Mount Olympus when shaken. The last children all received a pair of sunglasses from Tartarus that allowed them to see the thermal temperatures of objects. "So you can see who's hot and who's not," Tartarus joked as he handed them out. Percy gave his mom a sea pearl that he had found on one of Westover's sea hikes while he gave Pontus a joking present of a green burger king paper crown that said: KING OF THE FISH. Pontus laughed as he took it from his stepson before placing it on his head. The last children gave their father a picture frame with their handprints around the edges. Each year the children had put their hands in a different colored paint so that Chaos could always see their hand size, not matter how old they got.

After the gift exchange, they played games, silly and traditional late into the evening. Though Chaos hated to break the festive mood, the news couldn't wait till morning. After the primordials had gone with coffee into the dining room, Chaos motioned for the children to follow him to his office. Exchanging puzzled glances, the children dutifully went after their father to his office. Chaos held the door open for all of them before shutting it firmly behind them. The room, which had adapted to Chaos' needs as always, had a long bench in front of his desk. The last children sat on the bench as Chaos sat down in his swivel chair, resting his elbows on the desk, fingertips together. They looked at him expectantly.

Chaos sighed internally. This was always so hard to do. His children could see through him so covering the truth would never help. And they hated all the crap that was sometimes associated with a simple message.

"In her previous months of research, Thesis has uncovered more about your nature," He paused, scanning the faces of each of his children. They all bore the same expression of curiosity, anxiety, and a slight confusement on why Chaos was taking so long. "She found that you are aging as a regular human would until..."

"Until when?" Keira asked.

"When you reach sixteen, you will take on your full immortal form. Until you reach sixteen, you will age and die as a normal child your are was," Chaos finished.

For a moment, there was a brief stunned silence. Then, Alabaster, his smart little boy, put the pieces together. "So if the great prophecy goes as planned, we will be fighting the final battle for Olympus against the titans before we are sixteen, meaning we can die.

Taking a breath, Chaos then nods. The others have comprehension dawning across their faces. "Unless both children of Hades die..." Ollie begins.

"Bianca and Nico won't die," Percy says firmly. "Even if they were both killed, the titans wouldn't be like, hey, let's hold off our attack for another year just so that the prophecy child could be off age. Unless it benefitted them."

"If I know anything about my grandson, it is that Kronos will do anything in his power to get the upper hand. He will use all tricks to gain power and much more. But this is a discussion for another day. On a brighter note, you have all of January together."

The children turn and smile happily at each other, already planning what they will do together. "But, after that I cannot promise that you will all be together for some time," Chaos adds. Their faces fall, but soon the small grins return as they remember that they have the whole month together.

"Is that all?" Max asks.

Chaos nods. "I believe so," His children stand and head towards the door. Just as Percy reaches the door, Chaos calls him back.

"Percy, could you stay for a few minutes? Imogene, you too," The two turn back and sit down on the bench, which seems empty without all of their siblings on it.

"I want to congratulate you on the excellent job you did on earth. You successfully gained the trust of Hades and his children, kept the big three kids alive, and battled Atlas. Do you have any questions for me about your quest?"

"Yes," Percy replied. "Why isn't Zoe a part of the hunt any longer?"

His father sighed, leaning back in his chair. "It is rather complicated actually. The fates had ordained that Zoe's path would be changed by her family. Her father would have killed her or her sisters would have returned the immortality originally bestowed on her. Either way, by the end of the night, Zoe was not allowed to be a part of the hunt."

"But how did her sister returning her immortality remove her from the hunt?" Imogene asked curiously.

"You see, no one can ever hold immortality given to them by separate people at different times. When Atlas stripped Zoe of her immortality after Hercules left the garden with his prize of a golden apple, she was able to obtain the partial immortality from being a hunter of Artemis. But the second blessing of immortality almost always overrules the first. As her sisters healed her, Artemis' blessings and immortality left Zoe. Artemis can only give her blessing to a maiden once, the ancient laws forbid her from doing it a second. In the rules that Artemis herself wrote for the hunt, no girl is allowed to hunt with her once her blessing is gone. Though girls are allowed to be with the hunt who are considering joining. Therefore, Zoe had to camp to camp," Seeing Percy's look, Chaos continued. "Nor is Zoe fully immortal. Her wound was fatal so the blessing of immortality did not make her a full immortal."

Satisfied, Percy nodded in understanding. "Thank you father."

"Will we ever get to return to camp?" Imogene asked.

Chaos paused before beginning. "Yes, you will return next spring or summer. There is much to be done at Camp Half Blood before Kronos attacks. Also, you will fight mainly with the Greeks in the final battle for Olympus. I assume that is all. Good job and good night."

The siblings bid farewell before returning to their rooms for the night.

For the next month, the last children make every second count. All of them spent more time with their parents and siblings, not knowing who would be deployed on missions first. The sisters often had sleepovers together, staying up and giggling late into the night. The brothers hung out and once went to the ice cream parlor, Polar Bear Ice, in the Void, ordering the Jumbo Freezer, consisting of twenty one massive scoops of ice cream and at least ten toppings. They managed to break the record of their yearly attempt, eating it all in a time two minutes and thirteen seconds.

Once the last children decided to go sledding. The children of Gaia created a perfect sledding hill in the mansions, including little jumps and dips to make it more fun. Percy made sure an extra special layer of snow fell, one that was icy even to be fast but also with big fluffy drifts of snow and a light dusting of snow falling on them. Ethan, Paul, Mia, and Kiera brought the hot chocolate and lots of marshmallows for the bonfire afterwards. The children of Ananke found a variety of sleds from old toboggans, saucers sleds, tubes, and snowboards in the attic of Chaos' mansion. Why a bunch of primordials had sleds, they had no idea. Tartarus gave them a special grease to put on the bottoms so the sleds went extra fast. Terra, Susan, the daughter of Ourea, Timmy, the son of Eros and Thesis, and Dan and Kyley, the children of Hemera and Aether spent the morning gathering enough wood for a blazing bonfire and arranged logs in a circle around the fire pit.

When everything was finally ready, they all donned snow gear and headed out for a snowy afternoon. The sledding started out simple with just enjoying the fast hill they had created. Then challenges were issued and the races were on. Bets were being made left and right on who would win. Percy bet Willow fifteen voidians that she couldn't beat him down the hill. A starting line and finish with draw in the snow and the two placed their tubes on the start. Backing up twenty feet, they each waited anxiously for the start. Terra yelled go and they were off. Willow and Percy sprinted to their tubes, hitting them with a flying start. Percy, using his water powers to made his snow harder into ice so it would be quicker, starter to pull ahead. Willow, not wanting to lose to her older brother, created a large jump ahead of her. Flying off the ramp, she gave herself a push off wind so that she landed over the finish line. Standing up, Willow raised her fist in victory... only to be slammed by Percy crossing the finishing line. Though it was voted that it was a draw (Willow went farther, faster, but Percy actually crossed the finish line), they began to go down in crazy assortment of chains and formations, often ending up with them buried in the snow drifts.

Hours after the sun had set, they crowded around the bonfire Kyley had just lit, roasting marshmallows and eating gooey s'mores. They told ghost stories with Terra's red lift flashlight that often flickered, the storyteller usually using their powers to make the story creepier. Once, Mia silently willed the shadows over each person and yelled, "Boo!" The shadows flipped everyone over onto their backs. But the funniest thing was Hayden, screaming like a little girl. That brought on a good round of laughter.

Most things were still the same with the last children. Percy was still the loyal, joking one of the bunch. Willow still wore her knee brace (Chaos still hadn't figured that out) and Amy was still the compassionate one. Terra still was obsessed with dark chocolate and Paul and Ollie still loved to run. Ethan still couldn't hit the bull's eye on targets while Holly and Keira still had their rivalry.

But there were times Percy when looked off into the distance, standing stiller than a statue, just thinking, much unlike the loud, happy kid they had all come to expect. Imogene had the slightly broken look in her eyes, that Percy was afraid she would never lose. She had seen too much when she was captured by the titans, though Chaos thanked his father Helix everyday that she was still innocent. That truly would have broken her. And Chaos always looked so tired, worried, and apologetic when he looked at his children.

Then January ended, February just around the corner with promise of new missions. It would be a long time before all of them met up again. With a sad feeling in his heart, Percy knew the last children would never be the same if they ever met again.

**Okay, hoped you liked the chapter.**

**I need help. I had all these missions planned out, but then I realized that they may be too boring with all the OC's. So would you rather me write...**

**all the little missions**

**focus on the Greeks and Romans and show the missions through flashbacks and conversations**

**leave out the little missions completely**

**Thanks for your help and remember to review!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**


	15. First Missions

**This chapter is dedicated to Mermaids Forever because she shares a name with one of the last girls in real life.**

**Thank you to all who voted to help me with the ideas...**

**Review Responses Through Questions**

**Since when do Mcdonalds have frosties? (VyLenLayBBLY)**

**Because it's Tartarus and if they don't have frosties for him he will blow up their fast food restaurant with his powers and then put on sunglasses and watch the show, drinking soda.**

**Will the sea of monsters quest and titan's curse quest be used? (Pridewing Demigod)**

**No... the quests from camp (Zeus' bolt quest and the sea of monsters) was explained by Annabeth, Thalia, and Jillian in chapter 9, Hunters, Campers, and Prophecies. The titan's curse quest was explained in chapters 10-13 with Percy, Bianca, Imogene, and the others from camp.**

**Is that (Time Ago, Chapter 4) a real song? (Guest)**

**No, I was bored so I made it up.**

**ZoeisZbest- I'm not sure I'm following you...**

**Guest- Oh, I thought my story was kind of unique. But thank you for saying it nicely.**

**Disclaimer- All rights to respective owners. I changed Reyna's last name because it is way too long. I realize her initials are R.A.R.A. but I'm not going to copy and paste her name every time. I just realized as I was done writing the chapter that they had fought a hydra on the titan's curse quest too. Whoops.**

On February third, at nine fifteen in the morning, the last children were sitting down to a late breakfast. The air in the room was just as tense as it was cold. For two days now, they had been waiting for the missions promised to come with feelings of anxiety, sadness, and excitement. Everyone, except for Imogene and Percy, had never left the Void and were waiting for the moment they got to go to earth. Percy and Imogene were waiting to return to camp so they could see Bianca and Nico. But they understood that once they left, some of them might not ever come back.

The loudspeaker system wired throughout the mansion crackled to life. Chaos' voice made them all tense up, waiting for the news. Silently, they took in the news. Alabaster, Holly, Paul, and Terra stood, leaving the room. It was nine sixteen as the door closed behind them.

For security purposes, only Chaos knew of all the missions. Even the other primordials and last children were not allowed to know where the others went or when they would return. Percy supposed it was for their own good, but it was so hard not knowing where his siblings were. Their mental connection had even been cut off, but they could still sense whether the others were alive.

The rest of February was uneventful, except for a half hearted Valentine's day exchange (nobody was in the mood). They had known that this would be their job their whole lives, but that didn't make it any easier to accept now that their siblings were gone, Percy supposed.

March fourteenth came with a week till their birthday, the twenty first. It didn't seem right celebrating it without their siblings there, but what was to come only made it worse.

Just before dinner, the sound of the loud speaker that had begun to sound like doom, had crackled to life. The ten of the last children froze with anxiety and fear, weapons almost falling out of their hands. This time, Max and Amy silently left the arena where they were training.

That night at dinner, two more places were left empty. Percy swore he saw a single tear trickle down Chaos' cheek.

**Max and Amy, A few hours earlier**

"Max, Amy, could you please come to my office?" The last children exchanged frantic glances. It always felt so sudden. Almost as if in a daze, Amy sheathed her weapons and followed Max out of the arena. Her legs seemed to move automatically. Her whole life, she had longed for this day with excitement. But now that it was here, Amy wasn't so sure she liked it.

They paused outside Chaos' door. Max touched her shoulder comfortingly and a look of understanding paused between them. With new courage, Amy pushed open the door.

Her mother, Ananke, rarely mentioned Chaos in the days before they were born, but when she did, his appearance was always depressing to hear about. A tired, slumped man, bent with worry. Amy thought that the man that sat in front of her now looked almost identical to the descriptions that Ananke had described.

Their father looked up as Max and Amy sat on the two chairs in front of his desk. His black and silver eyes had bags under them that no amount of sleep seemed to rid them of the exhaustion.

"Hello," He began. All they could do was nod wordlessly. "Yes, you will be sent on a mission. You will join the Roman legion at Camp Jupiter, near San Francisco. Gain their trust and try not to make any enemies, especially with children of the big three, praetors, or centurions. You may use your names Max and Amy and the last name of Last. Pack your bags with any necessities you think you will need for several months at camp. Be mindful that they must fit in your backpack though," Chaos waved his hand, dismissing them.

The two hurried out. "Well, that was brief," Amy stated. "Are all mission meetings that short?"

"Probably not," Max replied. "I just don't think our mission really has an objective. Imogene told me that she and Percy got a whole folder of information."

"So we have no idea what we are doing," Amy said before brightening. "At least we have less paperwork to read."

"Yeah," Max said as they separated, heading to their rooms to pack. Twelve minutes later, Amy was folding the last of her clothes she was putting in her backpack. She had grabbed a few changes of clothes with magical properties and some basic camping supplies. Her weapons were always on her and she could summon her armor. Grabbing her backpack, Amy stood and walked into the hallway. At the same time, Max was closing his door behind him.

As Amy headed down the hallway to join him, the shadows thicken, and out steps Erebus, in his pitch black suit that looks woven from darkness itself.

"I am to take you to the Wolf House, where Lupa will train and assess you until she deems you worthy of joining the legion," Erebus explained quickly, holding out his arm to take them. Though Ananke had told her children that Erebus had opened up more after his children were born, the god still did not say much more than necessary. Amy grabbed his arm just after Max. The shadows enveloped them and they disappeared from sight. Chaos had taught them many things, but he refused to teach them how to transport from planet to planet until they visited earth for the first time.

The shadows swirled around until they cleared, revealing a serene looking green forest with tall trees towering over them. Through the thick canopy of leaves far above, a weak afternoon sunlight was filtering through. Amy paused to zip up her purple jacket before drawing out one of her knives. One can never be too careful in the woods. Max had dropped to a crouched position once they had arrived, hand pressed firmly against the ground and head tilted like he was listening for something.

Which he was listening for something or rather sensing it. He and the other children of Gaia, or Terra now that they were in the Roman territory, could feel the vibrations through the earth and determine where things were placed. After another long pause, Max turned to Amy.

"We're in Sonoma Valley, about two miles from the Wolf house. It will get dark soon though, maybe in an hour," Max said.

Amy nodded before clipping the front buckles of her backpack. "Let's get going, shall we?"

The woods were peacefully quiet as the two headed in the direction of the Wolf House. A few birds chirped in the trees while a raven cackled nearby. As they passed an old stump, Amy asked the question on both their minds.

"What do we tell Lupa?" Amy asked Max as he put his sneaker on the stump to tie his shoe. He knotted the lace quickly before standing upright.

"Well, we could knock ourselves out and make it look like monsters attacked us," Max suggested. "Then she would explain things to us."

Amy thought before speaking. "We could say that one of the Olympians appeared to us."

"Yeah, that would be a likely story," Max scoffed. "We could act dumb."

"Would it be hard?" Amy asked, teasing him, her tone light.

Max stuck his tongue out at her, adjusting his backpack. "I say we tell her that we were backpacking with our mother's family and heard a male's voice, directing us to the Wolf House."

"I guess that could work," Amy said. The two slowed their stride to a meandering pace as they entered a clearing with a impressive stone building in the center. A path that must have once been a paved driveway had reduced to crumbled pieces of stone.

They exchanged glances before stepping over the threshold of the house together.

**Two Weeks Later**

Amy scanned her surroundings. From Percy's stories of earth, she could see why he called San Francisco beautiful. To her left, golden hills rolled inland, dotted with lakes, woods, and a few herds of cows. And on the right, the flatlands of Berkeley and Oakland marched west—a vast checkerboard of neighborhoods, with several million people who probably did not want their morning interrupted by a mythological monsters appearance along with other nasty things like swords, demigods, and Romans.

Farther west, San Francisco Bay glittered under a silvery haze. Past that, a wall of fog had swallowed most of San Francisco, leaving just the tops of skyscrapers and the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Now, if only Max could get here soon before the monster chasing her caught up. Amy could have turned around and beaten the sphinx chasing her, but Lupa's last instructions before she sent Amy away rang in her ears.

_Go south. If you succeed, you will find sanctuary in the Roman Camp. Your brother must travel his own path, but be warned. Wait for him atop the hill. You will know which one I speak of when you reach it._

Also Amy knew that if she were to gain the Roman's trust and respect, she would have to prove herself by defeating the monster in front of the guards that were always stationed at the Caldecott Tunnel.

The wind changed. Amy closed her eyes, letting the weak winter sunshine bathe her face as she could sense Max drawing closer and closer. Then, another scent caught her nose, an acidic citrus smell mixed with cat breath. Yuck. The hydra must be chasing Max along with the sphinx stalking her.

Speaking of her brother, the bushes quivered and out ran Max. His face had a few scratches from scrambling through the brambles and one of his pant legs was burned from hydra fire, but other than that he seemed fine.

He slid to a halt next to Amy, taking in the view around him simultaneously with their situation. "Hey," Max said, as if they were meeting for lunch.

"Hi," She replied, never taking her eyes of the traffic streaming out of the tunnel below them. "The hydra?"

"Yeah, sphinx after you?" Max asked before Amy nodded. " So are we just waiting for them to catch up?"

"Basically," Amy explained her plan to him. "We have to defeat the monsters in front of the guards and we can't look like we're running slow on purpose."

"So you'll use your magical windy powers or I'll make a ramp for us to get down there once they arrive?" Max finished.

"Exactly. Granola bar?" Amy offered her brother. They crunched on their snacks as they waited.

About five minutes later, the forest began shaking with a powerful force as if an extremely large monster was making their way through the trees, which there was. Max jumped to his feet as Amy secured her backpack with the buckled straps. They gripped each other's hands as Amy silently counted down, Five, four, three, two, one...

The trees erupted, spitting forth a hissing, spitting monster with twelve heads. Its beady eyes locked on Max as a growl emitted from its throat.

"Almost..." Amy said. A lithe tan blur leapt from the trees to land next to the Hydra. The sphinx had arrived.

"Now, Amy!" Max yelled. Without having to be told twice, they jumped off of the edge of the steep slope. The ground whizzed beneath their feet as Amy kept them from tumbling down the slope, but made it look like sliding from the distance. She glanced briefly up the hill as they raced down the slope. The sphinx was springing swiftly from rock to rock down the slope, the hydra not far behind. Glancing east, Amy could now clearly see the highway cutting through the base of the cliff. Two tunnel entrances, one for each direction of traffic, loomed down at them like eye sockets of a giant skull. In the middle, where the nose would have been, a cement wall jutted from the hillside, with a metal door. Amy knew that that door was the entrance to camp.

Standing in front of the door were two kids in armor, a mix of helmets, breastplates, scabbards, and modern guard looked female, while the other looked male, but with the armor, it was difficult to tell for sure. They held long wooden staffs with iron spear tips, like old-fashioned harpoons.

Amy's feet hit the flat ground as she began running. Max checked behind them as she pulled them across the first two lanes of traffic. The sphinx had just reached the line of traffic when the hydra blasted fiery acid, making the oncoming cars screech to a halt. Max and Amy ducked as the fire whooshed past them. The sphinx lept over the lanes of halted traffic with ease while hydra picked its way across the burned path.

The two children of Chaos began sprinting up the steep slope that led to the entrance to camp. The guard on the right, the feminine one, raised her bow and fired an arrow at the sphinx.

"That will only make her mad," Max muttered. Sure enough, the sphinx swatted the arrow away with a paw and roared. Just as the two monsters were about to overtake them, Max tripped (Amy believed it was on purpose though). Spinning around, Amy drew her sword, ready to battle the Sphinx. The guards on the hill yelled something incomprehensible as Max climbed to his feet, staff already in hand.

The sphinx leapt at Amy. She swung her sword at the monster, but the sphinx was evidently as fast as it was smart. The lion woman went in for a bite on Amy's back leg, but a golden arrow pierced the cat's tail. Roaring in pain, the sphinx reared back, giving Amy the chance to stab her in the chest, dissolving the monster into a golden dust. Amy turned towards the girl on the hill, giving her the nod of thanks before looking to the hydra and Max.

Thank the gods they had their backpacks. Max had found his box of matches and had a torch that he was using to cauterize the stumps of the hydra after he cut them. The male guard was distracting the hydra, weaving in and out between the hydra's scaly legs, occasionally making cuts on the thick hide. The boy was a very skilled fighter to be playing such a dangerous game. When only one head remained, the boy plunged his sword deep into the hydra's heart as Max burned off the last head. The monster dissolved.

Max turned immediately and walked over to Amy, the other boy following behind.

"You okay?" He asked kindly.

"Yeah," Was all Amy could manage before the guard reached them.

"Come on, we need to get you inside camp before more monsters or the mortal police show up," The boy said as he walked up the hill. They followed. At the top of the hill, the girl was waiting for them.

"Are you okay Eli?" She questioned before turning to Amy and Max.

"We need to get them inside, Gwen," Eli replied before facing them. "We'll explain everything once we're inside," He promised as he held open the maintenance door.

Gwen, the female guard, went first with an extra torch. At first, the tunnel looked like a typical maintenance tunnel, with electric cables, warning signs, and fuse boxes on the walls, light bulbs in wire cages along the ceiling. As they got deeper into the hillside, the cement floor changed to tiled mosaic. The lights changed to reed torches, which burned but didn't smoke. A few hundred yards ahead, Amy saw a square of daylight.

"Welcome to Camp Jupiter," Gwen said.

Spread out at their feet was a bowl-shaped valley several miles wide. The basin floor was rumpled with smaller hills, golden plains, and stretches of forest. A small clear rivercut a winding course from a lake in the center and around the perimeter, like a capital G.

The geography could've been anywhere in northern California—live oaks and eucalyptus trees, gold hills and blue skies. Mount Diablo rose in the distance, right where it should be.

In the center of the valley, nestled by the lake, was a small city of white marble buildings with red-tiled roofs. Some had domes and columned porticoes, like national monuments. Others looked like palaces, with golden doors and large gardens. Amy could see an open plaza with freestanding columns, fountains, and statues. A five-story-tall Roman coliseum gleamed in the sun, next to a long oval arena like a racetrack.

Across the lake to the south, another hill was dotted with impressive looking temples. Several stone bridges crossed the river as it wound through the valley, and in the north, a long line of brickwork arches stretched from the hills into the town. An aqueduct crisscrossed the valley, bringing water everywhere.

About two hundred yards away, just across the river, was some sort of military encampment. It was about a quarter mile square, with earthen ramparts on all four sides, the tops lined with sharpened spikes. Outside the walls ran a dry moat, also studded with spikes. Wooden watchtowers rose at each corner, manned by sentries with oversized, mounted crossbows. Purple banners hung from the towers. A wide gateway opened on the far side of camp, leading toward the city. A narrower gate stood closed on the riverbank side. Inside, the fortress bustled with activity: dozens of kids going to and from barracks, carrying weapons, polishing armor.

Gwen and Eli lead them down a worn path to a bridge theatcrossed the Little Tiber. A set of horns blew across the valley as the doors to the military fort swung open. Out marched a neat formation of soldiers in golden armor. The troop as someone called a order. From the back of the lines, a girl with braided dirty blond hair swept forward, her purple cape billowing out behind her. She was obviously one of the praetors with the authority that she carried herself. Trailing behind her was a younger girl with dark brown hair.

The praetors hazel eyes swept the situation, taking in the details and seeming to understand what was going on.

"Centurion Cadrin, please bring the new recruits to the Principia. Gwen, you may return to your barracks. The rest of you, back to your normal duties," The praetor instructed as the crowd dispersed. She turned to the younger girl standing a pace behind her. "Reyna, you should come too. It will be good practice for you."

With that, the praetor swept off, Reyna following behind her.

Eli's eyes looked filled with an emotion that Amy couldn't put her finger on. "Come on, the praetors don't like waiting.

The streets were filled with ghosts.

Shimmering purple warriors stood outside the armory, polishing ethereal swords. Others hung out in front of the barracks. A ghostly boy chased a ghostly dog down the street. And at the stables, a big glowing red dude with the head of a wolf guarded a herd of unicorns.

"Those are Lares," Eli pointed out as they walked. "The House Gods.

"You mean like the ancestral spirit house gods?" Max asked.

Eli pulled off his helmet, revealing his brown hair cut military style. His river blue eyes turned to examine them more closely. "Yeah, the Lares are kind of like mascots."

They stopped at the center of camp, where two wide stone-paved roads met at a T. A street sign labeled the road to the main gates as via praetoria. The other road, cutting across the middle of camp, was labeled via principalis. Under those markers were hand-painted signs like Berkeley 5 miles; NEW ROME 1 MILE; OLD ROME 7280 MILES; HADES 2310 MILES (pointing straight down); RENO 208 MILES, AND CERTAIN DEATH: YOU ARE HERE!

For certain death, the place looked pretty clean and orderly. The buildings were freshly whitewashed, laid out in neat grids like the camp had been designed by a fussy math teacher. The barracks had shady porches, where campers lounged in hammocks or played cards and drank sodas. Each dorm had a different collection of banners out front displaying Roman numerals and various animals—eagle, bear, wolf, horse, and something that looked like a hamster.

Along the Via Praetoria, rows of shops advertised food, armor, weapons, coffee, gladiator equipment, and toga rentals. A chariot dealership had a big advertisement out front: CAESAR XLS W/ANTILOCK BRAKES, NO DENARII DOWN!

At one corner of the crossroads stood the most impressive building—a two-story wedge of white marble with a columned portico like an old-fashioned bank. Roman guards stood out front. Over the doorway hung a big purple banner with the gold letters SPQR embroidered inside a laurel wreath.

"The headquarters, called the Principia," Eli informed them before they entered.

The principia was even more impressive inside. On the ceiling glittered a mosaic of Romulus and Remus under their adopted mama she-wolf. The floor was polished marble. The walls were draped in velvet. Along the back wall stood a display of banners and wooden poles studded with bronze medals. In the center was one empty display stand, as if the main banner had been taken down for cleaning or something.

In the center of the room, a long wooden table was cluttered with scrolls, notebooks, tablet computers, daggers, and a large bowl filled with jelly beans, which seemed kind of out of place. Two life-sized statues of greyhounds—one silver, one gold—flanked the table.

A burly looking guy, who was maybe in his early twenties, examined them closely with his crimson eyes as they entered. From the way he held himself, the badges adorning his purple cape, and the chair he sat in with such power, it was obviously that he too was a praetor. The female praetor took a seat beside him while Reyna took a seat on the side of the table. For a long pause, no one spoke.

"Welcome to Camp Jupiter," The burly guy said in a voice that didn't sound very welcoming at all. "I am David, son of Mars, and one of the praetors here at Camp Jupiter. This is my ... colleague," David faltered a bit on the word colleague. The tension in the room was clear. "Cassandra, daughter of Mercury. And her trainee, Reyna Farley, daughter of Bellona. Now, tell us, why have you come? And don't lie. They-" He gestured to the dogs, "don't like liars."

They introduced themselves before Max began to tell how they had stumbled upon the Wolf House and were trained by Lupa until she believed they were ready to join the legion. Eli took the story over once he reached the part about the monster attack outside of the tunnel.

"They seek to join the legion," Eli finished.

Cassandra's scanned over them, but not as critically as David's did. She tilted her chin in a way that looked like she was considering.

"How old are you?" She asked.

"Thirteen," They replied together.

"Just about recruit age," David added.

"Twins?" Cassandra raised her eyebrows.

"Yes M'am," They said.

"Reyna, what do you think we should do?" Cassandra looked to the dark haired girl.

Reyna lifted her black eyes to study them. "I think we should send them to the augur. If the gods will it, then they can fight in the arena tomorrow."

Cassandra nodded. "Eli, take them to Randy and Octavian."

On the way out of camp, Eli bought them each an espresso drink and a cherry muffin from Bombilo the two-headed coffee merchant.

As they ate the muffins, a bunch of kids in swimsuits and towels head into a building that had steam coming out of a row of chimneys. Laughter and watery sounds echoed from inside.

"Bath house," Eli said. "We'll get you in there before dinner, hopefully. You haven't lived until you've had a Roman bath."

As they approached the front gate, the barracks got bigger and nicer. Even the ghosts looked better—with fancier armor and shinier auras.

Eli noticed them reading the banners. "We're divided into cohorts," He offered. "There are five cohorts of about forty kids each. Each cohort is divided into barracks of ten—like roommates, kind of, with about two hundred kids in camp."

"If all of them are children of the gods, then the gods have been busy," Amy said.

Eli laughed. "Not all of them are children of major gods. There are hundreds of minor Roman gods. Plus, a lot of the campers are legacies—second or third generation. Maybe their parents were demigods. Or their grandparents. Like the camp augur we're going to meet. His grandpa was Apollo."

They nodded in understanding. "So the divisions," Max asked, "the cohorts, are the numbers anything to the rank?"

Eli scowled. "The first is supposed to be the best, with the superiority and rank getting less and less as you go down to five."

"Why are you in the fifth then?" Amy asked. "You seemed pretty good out there with the hydra."

"I was three when I first made it to Camp Jupiter," The two looked at Eli in shock. "Legion rules say that once you are in Camp for one year, you have to fight in the arena if you ever want to join the Legion."

"Wait, what's the fight in the arena?" Amy questioned.

"Well, you start fighting the fifth cohorts centurions and with everyone you beat, you get to fight against the next cohort's centurions all the way up to the praetor, but nobody ever makes it that far. When you lose to a centurion, you can join every cohort that you beat the centurion of. Also, someone has to stand for you in that cohort. Or if a cohort above accepts you, you can join that cohort."

"Did they let you fight later?"

"No," Eli said. "As a four year old, I couldn't beat any of the older centurions. And with my godly parentage, no one wanted to take me into a higher Cohort."

"Who is your godly parent?" Max said.

"Neptune, god of the sea and rivers. The Romans fear the water."

"So you're not the most popular guy?" Amy concluded.

Eli nodded. "Time to get to Temple hill," He pointed to where dark clouds were gathering over a hill. Red flashes of lightning washed the monuments in blood-colored light.

They walked up the winding path of Temple Hill. Statues of gods seemed to follow them with their eyes.

Eli pointed out the Temple of Bellona. "Goddess of war," she said. "That's Reyna's mom." Then they passed a massive red crypt decorated with human skulls on iron spikes.

"Looks like a party place in there," Max joked.

Eli chuckled "That's the Temple of Mars Ultor, David's dad. That's the temple of Jupiter," He pointed toward the summit. Clouds swirled over the largest temple, a round pavilion with a ring of white columns supporting a domed roof.

"Looks like its the best and the greatest," Amy said.

"Yeah," Eli agreed. "Especially compared to Neptune's."

A small blue building was tucked far off of the main path. Nailed above the door was a cobweb-covered trident. As thunder rumbled above them and red lightning lit up the hill, Eli quickened his pace.

"We need to get their before Randy and Octavian finish. Or else you can't fight in the arena tomorrow."

The temple of Jupiter was huge. The marble floor was etched with fancy mosaics and Latin inscriptions. Sixty feet above, the domed ceiling sparkled gold. The whole temple was open to the wind.

In the center stood a marble altar, where a kid in a toga was doing some sort of ritual in front of a massive golden statue of the big dude himself: Jupiter the sky god, dressed in a silk XXXL purple toga, holding a lightning bolt.

The kid at the altar raised his hands. More red lightning flashed in the sky, shaking the temple. Then he put his hands down, and the rumbling stopped. The clouds turned from gray to white and broke apart.

A pretty impressive trick, considering the kid didn't look like much. He was tall and skinny, with straw-colored hair, oversized jeans, a baggy T-shirt, and a drooping toga. He looked like a scarecrow wearing a bed sheet.

A man leaning against the nearby wall in a better fitting toga stood up as the boy finished. "Very good Octavian. Now all you must do is perfect the reading and you will be ready to take over in June. And here is a chance for you to practice."

They turned. The older man had graying blond hair and blue eyes with crinkles around them. The younger boy had a crooked smile and a slightly crazy look in his eyes, like he'd just been playing an intense video game. In one hand he held a knife. In the other hand was something like a dead animal. That didn't make him look any less crazy. The two looked so similar that the older man had to be the boy's father.

"Guys," Eli said, "this is Randy and his son Octavian."

"The siblings!" Octavian announced. "You seek to join the legion?"

Eli spoke for them. He told Octavian everything that had happened since they met at the tunnel—the fight with the monsters and their conversation with the praetors.

When he finished, Randy nodded to Octavian. "Go ahead, read the augury."

The augur in training grabbed a stuffed animal from the base of Jupiter's statue. Octavian slashed open the panda's belly and poured its stuffing over the altar. He tossed the panda carcass aside, and muttered a few words over the fluff. Randy stepped up next to Octavian, checking his son's work.

"Good news!" he said. "They may join the legion. They can fight in the arena tomorrow. Tell Cassie that I approve."

Eli thanked them as they left the temple and headed back towards the Camp.

"So what's with all of these interns?" Amy asked.

"Oh, you mean Reyna and Octavian? There are positions that need to be filled in the legion: praetors, centuries, augurs, senators, and standard bearers. Originally in Rome, everything had to be done by election. Then the old emperors realized that in times of war, there needed to be a way to informally appoint someone. For the praetors, the person must be raised on a shield after a major battle. Senators must be voted except for extreme emergencies. Centurions and standard bearers are sworn in at a Senate meeting. All of this boils down to Cassie wanting to not be praetor anymore. The voting for the feast of Fortuna had passed, so they voted at the feast of Spes to have Reyna train with Cassie until the next Feast of Fortuna when she can be elected."

"Let me get this straight: Reyna is training to be a praetor, but she isn't officially elected yet," Amy deduced.

"Exactly."

"So somebody else could still be elected instead, right?"

"That's correct."

"You should run. You're a good fighter and you seem like you would be a good leader."

Eli shook his head and sighed. "I wish it were that simple. I'm a son of Neptune, an automatic bad luck charm. Plus I'm from the fifth cohort. That's a disaster waiting to happen. If anyone beats Reyna, it will be Jason, if he decides to run."

"Who's Jason?" Max asked.

"Jason Grace is a son of Jupiter. He's the centurion of the first cohort. He came when he was about eight," Eli explained.

"So you're telling me that a little eight year old beat a bunch of older centurions?"

"No, he came close to beating the fifth cohort's centurions, but during one of his battles he called down a huge lightning strike, that made every cohort clammer to have him."

"Oh, what about Octavian and Randy?" Amy inquired.

"Octavian's dad, Randy decided he was getting too old to be an augur. Octavian was the only eligible one on the ballot, so his dad will train him for a year before he is sworn in," Eli finished as they reached the gates.

Eli turned toward them. "There is about fifteen minutes until evening muster before dinner. Since you aren't in a cohort yet, you'll have to sit over here," He lead them to a low brick wall where they could watch the whole legion before Eli left to converse with Gwen, the fifth's other centurion. The legionnaires began to file into their places.

The first four cohorts, each forty kids strong, stood in rows in front of their barracks on either side of the Via Praetoria. The Fifth Cohort assembled at the very end, in front of the principia, since their barracks were tucked in the back corner of camp next to the stables and the latrines.

The campers were dressed for war. Their polished chain mail and greaves gleamed over purple T-shirts and jeans. Sword-and-skull designs decorated their helmets. Even their leather combat boots looked ferocious with their iron cleats, great for marching through mud or stomping on faces.

In front of the legionnaires, like a line of giant dominoes, stood their red and gold shields, each the size of a refrigerator door. Every legionnaire carried a harpoon like spear called a pilum, a gladius, a dagger, and about a hundred pounds of other equipment.

David and Cassie stood board straight in front of the legion, Reyna beside Cassie. Their eyes watched all as the centurions finished the roll call.

The Lares were the last ones to fall in. Their purple forms flickered as they jockeyed for places. They had an annoying habit of standing halfway inside living people, so that the ranks looked like a blurry photograph, but finally the centurions got them sorted out.

David shouted, "Colors!"

The standard-bearers stepped forward. They wore lion-skin capes and held poles decorated with each cohort's emblems. The last to present his standard was the legion's eagle bearer. He held a long pole with absolutely nothing on top. The job was supposed to be a big honor, but he obviously hated it. Even though David and Cassie insisted on following tradition, embarrassment rippled through the crowd when it was raised.

"Romans!" Cassie announced. "You've probably heard about the arrival of these two today. A sphinx and a hydra were killed by Max and Amy Last as they were entering camp."

The kids in the back rows craned their necks to see them sitting on the wall.

"They seeks to join the legion," Cassie continued. "What do the auguries say?"

"I have read the entrails!" Octavian announced, as if he'd killed a lion with his bare hands rather than ripping up a stuffed panda pillow. "The auguries are favorable. He is qualified to serve!"

The campers gave a shout: "Ave!" Hail!

Cassie nodded at them. "Congratulations, Max and Amy Last. Tomorrow you will fight in the arena and if a cohort will accept you, you will be placed on probatio. You will be given a tablet with your name and cohort. In one year's time, or as soon as you complete an act of valor, you will become a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Serve Rome, obey the rules of the legion, and defend the camp with honor. Senatus Populusque Romanus!"

The rest of the legion echoed the cheer.

"Centurions," David said, "you and your troops have one hour for dinner. Then you will have the rest of the night off!"

A bigger cheer went up—for the free time and for dinner. The cohorts broke ranks and ran for the mess hall.

The camp food was excellent. Invisible wind spirits—aurae—waited on the campers and seemed to know exactly what everyone wanted. They blew plates and cups around so quickly, the mess hall looked like a delicious hurricane.

A blonde haired boy came over to join them as they ordered their food. A breeze swept a plate with steak to Eli while another dropped a bowl of soup next to Gwen. A boy with curly black hair and slightly crooked eyes, Dakota, a son of Bacchus, Eli had said, stirred sugar into his drink. Amy got waffles with whipped cream as Max dug into his pasta.

The blonde haired boy dropped into a couch next to Dakota and a wind spirit brought him a cheeseburger.

"Hey Jason, this is Max and Amy," Gwen introduced them. "This is Jason Grace, son of Jupiter."

Amy's eyes flicked up to the blue eyed boy. Another child of the big three, another one who can save or destroy the world.

"You make it sound like it is the best thing on Olympus," Jason said.

"It's better than being hated for your parentage," Eli muttered.

"So how did you guys get to camp?" Max quickly intervened.

"Bacchus dropped me off at the Wolf House three years ago when I was eleven," Dakota explained.

Gwen sighed. "I was ten when I saw the mark of a sun on a tree. I kept seeing them until I followed the path to the Wolf House.

"You guys are both fourteen?" Amy asked. They nodded in response. Just then Reyna got up from the praetor's table and made her way over to their table. She sat beside Eli as a breeze floated a plate of fruit next to her.

"Did they give you a night off too?" Eli asked Reyna.

"Yeah, they thought I did an okay job with handling the new recruits, so no more work until tomorrow at the arena," She replied.

"How did you find the Wolf House?" Amy asked Jason.

"I was almost six when my older sister and I ran away. Then one morning I woke up and she was no where to be found. I travelled around on my own till I reached Lupa and her pack. They trained me until I was eight and ready to join the legion," Jason explained.

Reyna's dark eyes looked a little sad as she thought about her past. "I came to camp Jupiter last July," She said shortly before pressing her lips together tightly. It was clear she didn't want to talk about it.

After dinner finished, Gwen took them to the guest barracks where Max and Amy spent the rest of the night. According to everyone at dinner, they would need the rest for tomorrow so the children of Chaos took advantage of their extra time to sleep.

The next morning, Max and Amy briefly discussed their strategy for which cohort they should be in before heading to breakfast. In the dining hall, everyone was chattery and excited. For the legion, it meant an afternoon of watching exciting fights, eating popcorn, and not working very hard. For the two children of Chaos, it meant making the decisions of which centurions to beat and the ones to lose to.

As breakfast was finishing up, Reyna came over to them and informed them that they had the morning off to do as they pleased, but they should be in the arena before eleven thirty as the fights began after lunch, at one. The siblings spent the morning wandering New Rome and overlooking the valley at vantage point gardens. At eleven, they entered a sandwich shop and exited with lunch and ten denarii less. Small signs showed the way to the catacombs under the coliseum while bold signs advertised popcorn, cotton candy, self repairing armor for fighting, and directions to the spectator stands. The catacombs were furnished with purple hard backed chairs while a spiral staircase led up to the arena. A station with spare medical supplies and water stood next to a last minute weapon sharpening table. Hank, a third cohort centurion, entered the catacombs as the siblings finished their lunch. He explained the rules of the fight to them before leaving.

Max and Amy waited in silence for their names to be called. After what seemed like forever, Max's name was called. Amy bade her brother good luck as he ascended the stairs. Then she was left to wait alone as the crowd cheered and booed above her.

Finally her name was called. Legs trembling, she climbed the stairs.

The bright lights of the arena was a blinding change to the dark rooms underneath the coliseum. It seemed as if the legion and all of New Rome was there. From the emperor's dais, David stood and a hush fell over the crowd.

"Let the trials begin!" He called.

It was time to fight the first centurions.

**So how did you like the chapter? Don't forget; there's a poll on my profile with all of the new characters added in.**

**Can you guys do me a huge favor? I have a friend, TheGooseMaster, who's going through some rough water. Could you all read his stories (they're AMAZING!) and give him a giant review hug? Thanks it would mean a lot to both of us.**

**Remember to review and read TheGooseMaster's stories!**

**Thanks!**

**~Snow Wolfe6631~**

**P.S.- Expect maybe a christmas update.**


	16. Beginnings

**Hey, I'm alive! And it's my two year anniversary on Fanfiction!**

**So now we start into the Roman book, Chalice of Aganippe. The majority of the chapters will focus on that quest, but I'll cut back to the Greeks and other missions once a chapter.**

**Review Responses**

**Thanks to everyone who read the Goosemaster's stories, especially Lord of Death and Time.**

**What happened to Alabaster, Terra, Holly, and Paul? (IWANTCOLOREDRAIN)**

That's for me to know, and you to find out.

**Is order alive? What about void and helix? (guest)**

Order, Helix, and Void have all permanently faded.

**Mermaids Forever- Please, I have asked my readers to be patient. I have a notice on my profile stating that updating is difficult.**

**Divine Protector of Skyrim- I know how you spell steel, but since this is a type of weapon making metal, I changed the spelling to steele.**

**Boomerang- I stated last chapter that I would not copy and paste Reyna's last name since its too long, so I changed it to Farley.**

**Pyro daemona- Unfortunately for you, this is a story about family so the Perzoe will be minor and most likely occur in the sequel.**

* * *

**On with the story then.**

**Disclaimer: All rights to respectful owners.**

**Sorry for all the fight scenes that probably don't matter that much to you guys, but I thought it would be nice to have some action along with more intros on the characters.**

_**Previously,**_

_**From the emperor's dais, David stood and a hush fell over the crowd.**_

_**"Let the trials begin!" He called.**_

_**It was time to fight the first centurions.**_

What Eli hadn't explained to the siblings was that you fought Cohort's centurions at random. They drew the names from a hat in order to mix things up a bit, because everyone was being stuck in the quickly crowding fifth cohort. They had changed these rules after Eli had fought. Also, with two people fighting, Max would have the opportunity to fight the one of the centurions from each cohort while Amy could fight anyone he didn't fight.

Cassie stands from the praetor's seat beside David, holding an ancient looking helmet, which gleams a spectacular gold despite the obscuring rust. She removes a thin slip of parchment and unfolds it.

"Amy Last, your first opponent in the arena shall be Leila Campbell, centurion of the fourth cohort," Cassie declared.

Internally, Amy sighed with relief. Though her physical powers of the elements weren't as strong as some of her other siblings, her powers of time, prophecy, emotions, and needs worked more in the mind. She could sense that a quest would come to Camp Jupiter soon, though it was unclear because it was not made by her sisters, the three fates. In order to be on that quest, Max and she had to prove that they were worthy and able to fight. Yet it would be too suspicious that they could beat the legion's best centurions. Leila was an unaggressive fighter, however the eighteen year old was level headed and often had a good strategy. It would show the praetors and members of the Senate that Amy could think on her feet and wasn't a beginner to fighting if she beat Leila.

A slim Indian girl dressed in the normal Roman warrior attire entered the arena from the opposite side as Amy had. She had a gladius sheathed at her side and imperial gold breastplate and shield. Her deep brown eyes, like the color of overturned soil, scanned Amy like she was judging the best way to start this.

As Roman tradition called, the two walked forward and shook hands before taking several strides back. David stood once again and held his fist to the air. The crowd roared as Leila drew her gladius. A lesser cheer was made for Amy as she drew the sword her father had given her so long ago. Glancing swiftly to the side, Amy saw Max sitting on a bench with a cup of water. He gave her the briefest of nods. She turned back to Leila.

Leila charged forward, not in a rash, angry way however. She kept her sword in front of her ready to block any of Amy's strikes. Yet before the older girl could reach Amy, the daughter of Ananke took two long strides forward and met Leila's blade with her own. Leila's dark eyes narrowed as she gave this move a quick assessment. Yet before she could decide what to do next, Amy had her blade twisting around Leila's. The daughter of Ceres reacted quickly, turning her body with her blade as not to lose it. But Amy was faster. She leapt backwards and then to the side to reengage Leila. The two exchanged quick thrusts, but Amy could tell Leila was tiring. In order not to cause the girl too much embarrassment, she twisted her blade in the same disarming maneuver she had attempted earlier.

Leila fell for it. Faster than a viper, Amy had her blade untwisted and wrapped around Leila's blade the opposite way. She flexed her wrist and the blade went flying ten feet away from the pair. Before Leila could think about retrieving her gladius, Amy's swordpoint was on her throat.

From the emperor's box, David stood. He held his hand in the tradition she can live gesture with his thumb up. Amy stepped back from Leila and offered her hand as a good match handshake. Leila hesitated before clasping hers in congratulations.

After retrieving her blade, Leila left the arena to head to the side bench where Max was sitting. A legionnaire handed her a cup of water which she accepted gratefully. Amy sheathed her sword while she waited for her next opponent.

Soon Cassie stood and drew a name from the helmet. This time it was Hank, the centurion from the third cohort who had explained the rules to Max and Amy in the catacombs. The fight wasn't much of a fair one. Within two minutes, Amy had knocked him out with the butt of her sword, as gently as she could so he wouldn't have a pounding headache when he woke up.

The crowd who had cheered vigorously for the Roman centurions the first two fights, quieted a little after Amy defeated Hank. As the medics carried Hank out of the arena, Max motioned her over to the bench. She grabbed a cup of water and sat down beside him.

"You're doing well, sis," Max commented.

"Thanks. How'd you do in your fights?" Amy asked him.

Max shrugged. "I lost to Nathan, a first cohort centurion, so I didn't get to fight Reyna."

"After he beat Gwen, Larry, and Marcus," Leila said. "Honestly, you guys are good. Nathan's been training for a long time and Marcus doesn't get beat that often. He's a beast when you give him a gladius and get him angry."

The siblings chuckled lightly. "I wonder who you'll fight next," Max pondered.

Just then the legionnaire tending to them nodded towards Amy. "Water breaks over," She said. "You're needed back on arena floor."

Amy nodded in gratitude to her. "Good luck!" Max called after her as she left the sidelines. She waved her hand lightly at him as she stepped onto the sandy floor of the arena.

Cassie was already holding the slip of parchment when Amy looked up. "Jason Grace, centurion of the first cohort," She called in a loud clear voice.

Murmurs ran through the spectators like a wildfire. From what Amy had heard of Jason, he was a respected fighter in the legion. Plus his parentage and powers as a demigod would make him a tricky opponent.

The familiar blond boy who had eaten dinner with them last night strode into the arena. From the way he walked, Amy could see that he was not cocky, but only confident. The deafening cheers for the son of Jupiter made sense along with his attitude.

Jason stopped a few yards away from her before the two shook hands. He drew his gladius as he sized her up. Amy carefully observed him back.

From a few moments deep concentration, she could see that the edge of his imperial gold blade shimmered slightly. A small electric current must be running over it she decided. Not as strong as a shock that Jason's Greek sister, Thalia, would be able to produce, but still one strong enough to cause the opponent some numbness to the arm after fighting for a while, making them more susceptible to disarming techniques. She would have to be careful how she proceeded with winning.

After another moment's pause, Jason leapt at her. Amy could now see that he was was much better at controlling the winds than using lightning volts. His leap took him farther than a normal twelve year old should have. Two can play that came. Amy sprang into the air to meet him, using the training she had received in the Void to make her spring match his.

Their blades met with a shower of blue sparks as Amy felt her fingers get a little numb. They twisted and spun in an almost deadly dance, though killing was strictly prohibited in the duels. Maiming, however, was given the blind eye. Jason swiped at her feet but she jumped over his blade and jabbed at the back of his neck. His blade caught this too as he moved with lightning speed. The duel was not nearly as quick as the one with Leila had been and certainly longer than the one between her and Hank. Her hand was becoming more increasing numb and she knew she must end this soon.

Jason tried a disarming move on her, but she jumped backwards before it could take effect. They circled each other, trying to catch their breaths. Feigning being distracted, Amy glanced confused up at the stands.

It worked. Jason leapt towards her in her moment of confusion. Amy vaulted into the air. His eyes widened in a split second of surprise before Amy spun in the air and kicked him in the chest. He went flying across the arena floor with his blade skittering in the opposite direction. Before he started to rise, Amy had closed the distance and stood with her foot on his chest, sword at his throat.

Once again silence filled the Coliseum. Amy knew she had used some unorthodox moves, she had been training with her more Greek like siblings for too long not to, and beating Jason was no small feat. She stepped back from Jason and sheathed her sword.

Cassie recovered first. "Congratulations, Amy Last," She said, though the compliment sounded off. "You will be fighting Centurion Kate Williams of the second cohort next."

Amy turned to give Jason a helping hand up, but he was already standing. He gave her a long calculating look before leaving the arena.

The next centurion didn't hesitate before entering the arena. She was medium height and muscular. Her black hair was held back in a messy bun at the back of her head. Her hazel eyes scanned the arena as she shook Amy's hand.

Assessing her opponent, Amy realized this would be a tough fight. This older girl was well trained in the art of sword fighting from the worn callouses on her hand. Her pre battle stance showed that she knew what she was doing. Amy too readied herself.

Realizing after a long moment that Kate was waiting for her to make the first move, Amy darted forward her plan already in her mind. Kate reacted, her blade meeting Amy's thrust.

The whole crowd was on the edge of their seats as Kate and Amy's blades grappled together, neither seeming to gain any winning advantage. Kate was light on her feet and well trained, but the match was still close.

Kate thrusted downwards over Amy's head. Whipping her blade up to meet the older girl's, she realized what Kate had done too late.

It was a complex disarming maneuver, easily recognizable. However there was little a sword fighter could do to prevent being disarmed, even it you did notice it.

She should have realized what was coming. It was a silly mistake to fall for it. Even so, she reacted with viper like speed as her blade was knocked from her hand.

Cheers began to break out as the crowd saw Kate's blade on Amy's throat. However, David stood and held up his hand. Silence fell swiftly over the arena as the spectators began to notice Amy's sword, which she had grabbed before it had fallen onto the ground, on the back of Kate's neck.

"Rarely has there ever been a tie in the centurion fighting," David said loudly. "But our ancestors planned for such occurrences," He stopped and nodded to Reyna.

Reyna stepped forward. It was clear that this was a test, to prove whether or not she had knowledge of the Roman traditions and if she could lead the crowd. Reyna's legs trembled ever so slightly as she stood in front of the crowd, but her voice was clear and strong.

"Romans, in the event of a tie, the centurion would determine whether or not the opponent was worthy to move on. Centurion Williams," Reyna nodded down at Kate. "Your decision is needed."

Kate stepped back from Amy and sheathed her blade. The daughter of Proserpina bit her lower lip as she considered the choice she had to make. Amy watched her face anxiously. The nineteen year old demigod was a good opponent to lose to, but if Amy could move on to face Eli, she would perhaps not only prove her own worth but Eli would be given the respect he deserved in the legion.

"I have decided," Kate said. "Amy Last is a skilled fighter and a worthy opponent. She should move on and face Centurion Cadrin."

From the water station, Max's face broke into a grin as the crowd broke into applause. Leila gave her a thumbs up from where she sat. Amy could tell Leila held little bitter resentment towards losing a fight.

Kate grasped her hand in a handshake. "Good fight," Amy said.

"You fight well," Kate replied. She gave Amy a quick smile before she strode out of the arena to thunderous cheers.

Cassie stood as the cheers died down. "For your final centurion fight, you will face Eli Cadrin, centurion of the fifth cohort-" Boos echoed through the arena at the mention of the fifth cohort. Cassie waited impatiently for them to stop. "If you can defeat Centurion Cadrin, you will fight David, praetor of the twelfth legion fulminata."

Shock rippled through the crowd. Amy guessed that not many people got to fight a praetor. Though she knew she could at least tie David, Amy had to let Eli win. It would bring both of them respect while not detracting any from the praetors. If a mere teenager, no matter if they were a child of Chaos, were to beat the well trained praetor, David would lose some of his authority.

Amy turned and headed to the side bench for a quick swig of water. As she gulped down the water, Max spoke.

"You had me worried there for a moment," He commented.

She smiled at him. "But I came back."

"As I knew you would," The corners of his mouth tugged upward into a grin.

Amy looked back at him for one long moment before she entered the arena. Eli was already in the center, waiting for her. His face was calm, much less surprised than the other Romans around the stadium. He gave her a slight incline of his head as they shook hands. She did the same as they backed away from each other.

Eli drew his sword and she finally got a good look at it. The blade was imperial gold, like all the other weapons Amy had seen, but it had a slight blue light drifting around it. She guessed it was her prophecy self seeing this as something to come. Puzzled by this, she refocused on the battle.

Thinking almost simultaneously, they both began the battle at the exact same time. Eli was an excellent fighter, as good as or better than Kate and probably tied with Jason. She could feel the amount of raw power he held as their blades met. His powers as a child of Neptune seemed to be rarely used because of the Romans fear of the sea god.

He was quick as they exchanged parries and thrusts. It was just as difficult as it had been fighting Kate. His blade slashed across her shoulder blade while one of her strikes cut his knee.

But she was tiring and she knew he had realized it too. When he tried his next disarming trick, she resisted the force for a moment. However he only pushed harder before kicking out her feet from under her. Just as she had beaten Jason, he finished with his foot lightly on her chest and the point of his sword under her throat.

The crowd seemed stunned for a moment before breaking into hesitant applause. Eli offered her a hand up and she gratefully took it. They exchanged brief smiles before turning to look up at the praetor's box.

"Congratulations to Max and Amy Last for their bravery in their fights against the centurions. Tonight at evening muster, they will be offered a place in the legion. Legionnaires, training will resume in half an hour, at four o clock. Please view the paper outside the armory for the abbreviated schedule," With that, David turned and swept from the praetor's box, Cassie right behind him. Reyna paused, looking over the arena for another moment before following after them.

The departure of the praetors must have been the cue for the spectators to leave. A low din filled the coliseum as people stood, gathering their things and chattering with friends as they exited.

"Good job," Max congratulated Eli. Amy started, she hadn't noticed her brother leaving the water bench to come talk to them.

Eli smiles. "Thanks. I was worried for a moment that you-" He nods at Amy,"- were going to wipe the floor with me. You want to come with me? The fifth cohort's doing strategy training until evening muster. But first we can stop by the bath house and get showers."

The siblings followed Eli out of the arena and New Rome. After washing off in the bath house, they headed down the main Camp Jupiter road. The strategy training took place in the back dungeon room of the Via Principia. Despite the boring name, the training was actually pretty exciting. With forty kids in a large stone chamber, it was impossible not to feel the excitement of this activity. Unlike the other drills the Romans had to complete, strategy training was not physical but engaged the mind. Low Roman tables and board games were all over the room along with a few electronic games. The ghosts seemed to enjoy this education since they could actually participate. A short blond boy with a martyred expression stood by a large map of ancient as Vitellius, the fifth cohort ghost, described how they whipped the Greeks with their superior strategy. But as Amy turned away, she heard the boy ask Vitellius why they didn't send two distracting groups. Vitellius responded with vigor and the two headed to a map on a table with small troop units to discuss options.

Max and Amy ended up playing Settlers of Catan, a domination game with Eli and another girl named Jennifer. They had to use their resources they gained from random rolls of dice to expand their empire to win. Nearby Gwen played chess with an older girl while Dakota played another game in the corner.

The two hours went by rather quickly. Soon it was time for evening muster. Once again, Max and Amy sat on the side wall while the Centurions called role and got the ghosts to line up. The standard colors ceremony was done before David motioned for Amy and Max to come to the front.

"Romans!" He announced. "Today we watched the newcomers, Max and Amy Last, fight in the arena after the auguries proved favorable. They are qualified to serve."

"Ave!" Hail! The campers shouted.

David motioned the senior officers forward—one from each cohort. Nathan, as the most senior centurion, turned to them.

"Recruits," He asked, "Do you have credentials? Letters of reference?"

"No," Max said firmly.

"None but their victories in the arena," Cassie added.

Mutters swept through the crowd. Amy guessed it wasn't often that the newbies beat centurions.

David nodded but he seemed a little angry. At who, Amy had no idea. "Will any legionnaires stand for Max Last?"

"I will!" Eli stepped forward.

The fifth cohort pounded their shields against the ground. .

"My cohort has spoken," Gwen said. "We accept the recruit."

Cassie smiled ever so slightly. "Congratulations, Max Last. You stand on probatio. You will be given a tablet with your name and cohort. In one year's time, or as soon as you complete an act of valor, you will become a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Serve Rome, obey the rules of the legion, and defend the camp with honor. Senatus Populusque Romanus!"

The rest of the legion echoed the cheer.

"Will any legionnaires stand for Amy Last?" David said again.

A silence filled the Camp. Amy desperately wanted to disappear at that very moment in embarrassment. At the very least she wanted to grab Max's hand for comfort. But he already was standing with his new cohort.

It seemed like a very long time, but it had only probably been ten seconds before someone spoke. "I will stand for her."

Amy's head snapped up. Kate from the second cohort grinned at her as they pounded their shields against the ground. Amy let out a sigh of relief as Larry, the other centurion, confirmed that their cohort had spoken. Slightly dazed, she hardly heard Cassie's customary introduction to the Legion as she stood with her new cohort and David dismissing the cohorts for dinner.

**Two months later, May 30th**

**Camp Halfblood**

**Bianca di Angelo**

Bianca sighed as she pulled her suitcase out from underneath her bunk in the Hermes cabin. Now that the summer session at Camp Halfblood had officially started, the Hermes cabin was filling up quickly again. The returning older campers needed their bunks back. She and Nico were sharing the one of the tiny corners in the cabin.

Cautiously, Bianca looked around the cabin to check that it was completely empty. Then she pushed her suitcase into the shadows of the wall. Instead of smashing into the plaster, the luggage disappeared. Bianca slowly smiled. Ever since she had found out Hades was her dad, Bianca and Nico had been spending the last week of each month down in the Underworld training with him. Since they lived at camp, Hades wasn't technically breaking the ancient laws. Plus Hestia was usually there, so she could be counted as their current guardian. Persephone had been there the first visits too, but now she was back in the mortal world with her mother Demeter.

Those weeks spent with their dad were the highlight of Bianca's lonely months at camp. Hades taught them how to control the shadows and summon spirits. Down in the Underworld, it was easier to do such things than up in the mortal world. Their father taught them how to wield their blades. Both of the di Angelo twins had improved rapidly. Often they fought two against one on their father or Thanatos. Hades also summoned the spirits of the dead for them to learn more, not only in battle strategies, physical activity (like running alongside the Styx at five in the morning) and fighting, but in regular studies too. Hades usually let them take some day adventures to various spots all over the world, since they weren't allowed to leave camp asides from their monthly visits to their dad. They had visited the stony peaks of the Adirondack mountains in New York, the crystal beaches of Mexico (both of them disliked this spot for its proximity to Poseidon's domain) and many other spots.

Nico and Bianca had just returned from the Underworld that morning. This particular visit had been thrilling, since Hades had introduced to them shadow travelling. Neither of them had been very good at it, but their father had warned them that it would take time, and they were determined to master it. They had taken to sneaking out of the Hermes cabin after curfew to practice their shadow powers in the dark forest. Hades had cautioned them that no one at camp should know their heritage. He promised he would reveal it when the time was right. But now their night time practice sessions would have to stop. The Hermes cabin was simply too full to risk being caught sneaking out.

Asides from the fact that they would have to stop their nightly training, Bianca was glad other campers would be returning. After winter break, more campers had left camp, making it feel almost deserted. Jillian and Annabeth had both returned to their respected homes in New York and San Francisco. During the remainder of the school year, Jillian returned a few times and Annabeth came back for Spring break. But they weren't the ones the di Angelos wanted to see. They hadn't heard a peep from Jackson or Fern Last since they waved goodbye to them on the winter solstice.

Unexpectedly, Bianca and Nico had befriended Clarisse la Rue. Despite her tough demeanor, she was a superb sword fighting teacher and had dueled countless times with them over the winter and spring. She sighed again and checked her watch. _Half an hour until the campfire._

As Bianca was standing up, Nico rushed into the cabin. "Bianca! Bianca! Guess who's here!" He said excitedly.

Bianca frowned at his expression and obvious glee. She hadn't seen Nico this happy since... The corners of her mouth tugged into a huge grin as his words and attitude sunk in.

"They're back?!" She exclaimed.

Nico was grinning too. "Yes!" He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the cabin.

There, standing in the central green, where two figures Bianca had longed to see the whole winter. As the di Angelos rushed out of the cabin, Fern turned towards them, her hazel eyes sparkling.

"Fern!" Bianca gave her friend a bear hug. "You're back!"

From her side, Jackson laughed. "You didn't honestly think we'd miss the summer session, did you?"

Bianca laughed too, before giving Jackson a hug also.

"How have you been? We haven't seen you guys in, like five months," Bianca said.

Fern slung her arm around the twins' shoulders. "Come on. Let's go drop our stuff off in the Hermes cabin then we can go catch up."

Feeling better than she had in months, Bianca smiled even bigger before following her friends.

**June 9th**

**Camp Jupiter**

**Amy Last**

Life at the Roman camp wasn't bad. Kate had been super helpful with Amy adjusting to legion life, though she didn't let her slack off for a second. The two dueled frequently, which kept Amy on her toes. Most of the other legionnaires in the second were kind but they had gotten there by letters of credentials, not by fighting skills as Amy had hoped.

Though they were in different cohorts, she got to see Max everyday, yet not as much as she would have hoped. She often ate dinner with Max, Eli, Reyna though she was busy with the upcoming praetor election, Gwen, Dakota, and Jason despite their differences in cohorts. Sometimes even Kate joined her. Also, Max and Amy go to train together. Usually, you trained with your cohort. However there were a few practices that required two cohorts. The cohorts would rotate so everyone had a chance to fight with all others.

Even with the busyness of being a Roman, Amy still missed her siblings dearly. She wondered if Percy and Imogene had returned to the Greek camp and if Alabaster, Paul, and Holly were all right. She longed to see her parents too, especially her father Chaos. Repeatedly she pondered if he had the same heavy burden on his shoulders.

But tonight, excitement and anxiety bubbled like an overflowing goblet throughout the room. Tonight was the first match of death ball, like paint ball except with acid, poison, and fireballs, for almost three months. Apparently the poison for the most recent games of death ball had been too strong, knocking out most of the players hit for a week and seriously depleting the medical supplies. Chemical engineers had set out fixing the concentration and tonight it was finally ready to be used.

At the conclusion of dinner, the cohorts gathered on the FIeld of Mars, where small fortifications- walls, ditches, tiny houses suspended off the ground, had been erected. David stood in front of them and explained the rules. They would be playing knockout, where a player could take two hits from one of the guns before they had to leave the game. Which ever team had the most players at the end of ten minutes would win the round and proceed to fight another team. However the legionnaires could only use the paintball guns, loaded with deadly substances of course, to hit others.

First, the third and fourth cohorts would face off. Then the second and fifth cohorts would compete. The victor of the first match would challenge first cohort, the standing victors of the game. And the winner of the second vs. fifth match would face the top dog of the third battle. The cohort that came out on top would be crowned the champion of death ball.

The primary round began as the large buzzer went off. Immediately, shots were fired. Amy along with the other cohorts who weren't playing duck behind their shields as paintballs whizzed over their heads. One young girl was too slow and got slammed in the face. Lucky for her, it wasn't too acidic. The third and fourth cohort were pretty evenly matched, but the third seemed to be gaining a slight edge. Reyna fired off shots with a fury Amy realized could only come from this most likely being Reyna's last time to play deathball before she assumed the position of the praetor. As the buzzer sounded, the players froze in place as the game officials, located on top of the observation tower, counted up the members of each team still in the field. The officials conferred briefly before one stepped up to the podium at the top of the tower.

"And the winner is... The third cohort!"

Cheers erupted from the said cohort. Several more shots were fired into the air as a symbol of their victory while others pumped their fists in the air. The fourth cohort looked a little put out, but still shook hands with the third. As the third and fourth cohorts left the field, the second and fifth got into their positions. Max gave Amy a sly grin from where he was crouched behind a parapet. Amy smiled deviously back at him as she checked that her gun was loaded.

The Field of Mars was silent as the buzzer made its customary five second countdown. On the final beep, the battle began with a chorus of loud yells and noise from the paint guns. Despite what the rest of the legion thought, the fifth cohort were actually pretty good fighters. Plus they had Max, who had a mean sniper shot, and Gwen, who had excellent aim from archery. The match was pretty even. Amy managed to take out three older kids before she felt a slight pain on her right leg. Swiftly glancing down, she noticed that she'd been hit. Whipping her head toward the direction, she'd been shot, she saw Max grin widely at her again. Amy stuck her tongue out at him before firing a shot in his direction. He smirked before hitting four kids from the second cohort.

Not to be outdone, Amy fired a shot a running fifth cohort member, but the blast never hit him. All around her, she could hear cries of dismay as the others realized that their guns weren't working. Suddenly, the buzzer which was normally green during the match, flashed gold. The spectating legionnaires drew their weapons and looked around, some in fear, others in anticipation.

"Romans," A voice spoke. From behind one of the wooden barriers, a young man in light armor stepped out. Instantly, all weapons, including the now useless paint guns, were pointed at him.

"Wait!" Cassie called. The legionnaires looked at her in surprise as she kneeled. Then recognition crossed their faces as they knelt before the god Apollo.

Apollo couldn't have been more than twenty two in the current form he was taking. His golden blonde hair was cropped short, but the ends had grown out a bit to hang down around his ears. With eyes bluer than a sunny sky, he looked over the Romans. He was slightly stocky, but his armor was that of an archer's, lightweight and non restricting to the arms, but protecting his chest. An impressive polished chestnut bow was slung across his back along with an intricately patterned quiver of arrows.

For several long moments, no one uttered a single word. Then Cassie must have realized Apollo was waiting for them to talk first.

"Lord Apollo, what brings you to Camp Jupiter?" Cassie said respectfully.

Apollo smiled a brilliant smile like he'd been waiting for this. "Why, Cassandra, I just wanted to visit my favorite Romans," The legion seemed to sigh with relief. "And I need a favor," Apollo added.

The tense environment was back. "Of course, Lord Apollo, what can we do for you?" David asked. Amy guessed the praetors and most of the legion knew the consequences of angering a god. The normally brusque praetor seemed to have a polite respectful tone in him.

"Lately my poems and songs seemed to have, how do you put it? Suck. They seem to suck. You know, I think I'm just not inspired. I'm without a muse, you could say," Apollo look around at them, as if waiting for someone else to say something. But no one did, so he continued.

"I want a quest to go to Mount Helicon and retrieve me some of the inspirational water from the Aganippe spring. I cannot go there myself for it is heavily guarded against gods. But you, Romans, can go."

"Lord Apollo?" Cassie asked tentatively. "Do you mean the Mount Helicon in the ancient lands?"

The god of archery laughed. No one else laughed with him. "Oh no, I would never dream, well actually I can't dream, but I would never think to ask you to go through the Mare Nostrum. Mount Helicon shifted with Western Civilization to Sahale Peak in the Cascade Mountain Range," He paused. "I feel like I'm forgetting something," He glanced over the legion before his eyes fell on Octavian. "Oh I know, a prophecy!"

He closed his eyes but they almost immediately snapped open, a glowing green now instead of blue.

_"You shall leave the place of roman probation,_

_And climb the mountain of inspiration._

_Aided by the god of tides,_

_A grudge so old to wound pride._

_Take the chalice of old chivalry,_

_for the god of prophecy,_

_Memory stands in shattered glass,_

_To be found by the sorcerers alas_," Apollo hissed in an ancient sounding voice. His eyes closed when he was done. When he reopened them, they were back to their normal blue color.

"There's your prophecy. And by the way, you should bring at least five people on this quest. One of them should be this guy here-" He gestured towards Max. "He's got a wicked aim."

"Thank you Lord Apollo," Cassie said. "How will we get the water to you?"

"I'll know when you return to Camp. Until next time Romans!" Apollo smiled once more, waved, and disappeared in a flash of golden light.

* * *

**So a quest? What do you think of my prophecy? Anyone going to try and decipher it?**

**Hoped you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Leave me comments, questions, and concerns in reviews! Review with any errors you see, I didn't check it over.**

**And I still have the poll on my profile for your favorite character in this story! Nico is winning so far #GhostKingForever**

**Thanks**

**~SnowWolfe6631~**


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